Secret Fantasy
by ShardyPsykoElf
Summary: Completed! Seto and Serenity cannot get over their night of passion seven years ago, however Serenity is married to Malik. Heavy Angst. Some humor. Bakura is stealing spoons. o.O
1. Prologue

Just couldn't get this story out of my mind. I just had to write it. At first, I figured this was going to be a one-shot, kinda PWP but with a little bit of plot. But after typing it, I realized I had something here and decided that I was going to create not-your-average Seto/Serenity lovey-dovey story. Yeah, there's problems getting those two together, but the biggest problem will be discovered in the next chapter. Anyway, here's a teaser, and yes, Seto and Serenity do the horizontal polka at the end (who here has seen _Family Matters_?—is that the name of the show?? I forgot.) The scene is not too descriptive, but I tried to squeeze in what I can. Basically, it dances on that fine line. (I wrote it just for my fellow perverts out there. ^_^). Okay, I'm going to finish babbling. Hope you enjoy!!

PS- For those of you reading _Love is Blind, _I just need to edit chapter six so I should post it sometime within the next week. However, I do have semester exams this week, so posting is going slower than I thought it would. I have not forgotten _Love is Blind _nor _Seto's Girl _so keep an eye out! ^_^

Disclaimer: Myself owning Yu-Gi-Oh! is like ants owning pixie stix. Too dangerous. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Secret Fantasy 

-Prologue-

~*~      

"Dare."

He let the word fall upon their ears slowly, rolling off his tongue in almost a seductive manner as his lower lip rose in near-provocative attitude, his azure eyes, bluer than the midnight sea they flew over, challenging the questioner to make him do something stupid. The rest of the audience held their breath, some of them, mainly an autumn blonde member, hoping he would be dared to dive off the blimp and swim with the sharks. He ignored their gaping faces, wide eyes, and leaning bodies next to falling over from the suspense as he locked his gaze with those of amethyst orbs dancing with mischief. 

Malik Ishtar. On their way back home from Alcatraz Tower, the evil Malik had been vanquished into the eternal darkness of the Shadow Realm, leaving behind a heart-broken boy desperate for love and understanding. Unfortunately, the presence of Yami no Malik having been residing inside his body for so long did not leave without forcing upon Malik some drastic side-affects, including a major chemical-imbalance and a sadistic outlook. Though Malik had done exceptionally well keeping his sadist side down to a minimum, he was starting to grow bored. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is an increasingly dangerous threat. They had been at this "Truth or Dare" game for the past half-hour, and granted, it was amusing, Malik wished that something could happen to spice things up around here. His chance finally came when the green-eyed dice cat dared him to kiss Bakura. 

His hunger for excitement wasn't satisfied. Yami no Bakura had flat out refused to kiss Malik, and the trembling hikari looked so timid and frightened, that all Malik could do to keep the bunny from having ulcers was give him a tiny peck on the lips. He could've gone further had the Shennen Ring not been vibrating with the rabid rabbit's rage. Horned-hair albinos are no fun.

Growling under his breath in frustration, when it came time for Malik to choose someone to torture, he almost broke into a grin when his eyes fell upon Seto Kaiba. Ah, yes, he could sell tickets and make lots of money from the torment of the High-and-Mighty-Oh-Great-and-Powerful Priest. But Kaiba's guts were practically made of steel, so this was going to take some thinking. No matter. Even if he couldn't shatter Kaiba's entrails with a dare of suicidal humiliation, at least he was going to get something out of this. Something so controversial, all Hell itself would break loose upon this blimp. 

Kaiba had uttered the word "dare", which made it all the sweeter, for Malik had been prepared with a question in reply to "truth". He would just have to manipulate the question a little, keep the same concept, and, though he highly doubted Kaiba would go through with it, at least certain members of the party would pop a few arteries. 

This time, Malik could not hold back his grin as he inquired, "Before I tell you my dare, there is something about you I need to know to see if you have the capability of completing it." 

"Go on," Kaiba instructed darkly, already growing impatient. 

But Malik fed that impatience, taking care to drawl this out as long as possible as he leaned slowly forward. His amethyst eyes captured the Shennen Rod gleaming from its place beside Kaiba, which pissed him off to no end, which gave him the courage to endure whatever wrath Kaiba would unleash once the question escaped. "Tell me...would you sleep with anyone in this room?" 

The question had indeed caught Kaiba off-guard and everyone else in the room almost did fall over. "Malik!" he heard Isis hiss. Malik ignored her. It was a valid question. After all, it was all their fault for not setting up rules for this game in the first place. 

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. Malik shivered with excitement at the outrage screaming in those twin sapphires, the heavy blush streaking across the handsomely curved nose. Here it comes. Kaiba was going to deliver the diatribe that would make Navy Seals cower with whimpering fear in dark corners from the verbal massacre. No doubt Isis would jump to Malik's defense, despite he was the cause, and then Kaiba would yell at her. And then Joey would yell at Kaiba for yelling at a woman in general, and the dragon and the mutt would mutilate themselves in auditory bloodshed. Malik did not need his sister's Shennen Tankh to see this common.

But once again, Kaiba would best the powers of the Shennen Tankh, for suddenly his mouth shut and even formed his infamous smirk. The blush faded to non-existence. The rage in those dragon eyes faded to a gleam of pure wickedness. "That all depends." The reply was not in its usually bored monotone, but a husky purr that would send shivers down anything that had a nervous system. Everyone else, besides the two boys whose amethyst and sapphire were locked, looked at each other in mirroring shock. There was actually someone on this blimp whom Kaiba found worth having sex with? Kaiba actually considered sex??? Had the situation not been so much like the atom bomb, leaving behind just as much devastation, several members of Yugi's group would've set up booths to bet on whom it was Kaiba had the hots for. 

Malik had not been expecting this answer, but it was causing the game to become better and better. He wondered why they didn't play games like this in ancient Egypt. This was very much like a Shadow Duel where players risked pride and face, sometimes completely destroying themselves over two nouns and a conjunction. "Well, what if there are no strings attached?" the sand-haired leopard continued. "Once it is done and over with, the two of you are to pretend it never happened?" 

Kaiba's grin grew wider, as if he were devising an evil scheme of his own. "Then I certainly would. Provided she is perfectly willing." 

Uh-oh. She. That narrowed it down to only four people present in the room. Unless, of course, a few other members were keeping secrets they had no intention of sharing. 

"Then I dare you..." Malik drawled lazily, "...to take the hand of the girl you want to sleep with, lead her into your room, and fuck her brains out right now." 

If it were humanly possible, eyeballs would be rolling around the floor as the others gawked. Mokuba simply tilted his head to one side, wondering why everyone was looking so flabbergasted. And what does fuck mean? He often heard his brother use it when he was extremely stressed or pissed or both, but the younger Kaiba never bothered to ask. It was a highly offensive word, he knew that much. 

Kaiba smirked. "I would, Ishtar, but I must request you rethink your dare. I am not prepared for such an intimate ordeal. I don't possess condoms, I doubt the girl is on birth control, and I really can't take such high risks of pregnancy. I have too much going on with work, even if there should be no strings attached, I don't want to have to go through the controversy of taking care of a squalling infant." 

Malik sighed. So much for that. But he could still do some damage. Well, the dice kitty had a good idea from his dare. "Fine. Kiss the girl you want to sleep with. And make sure it is a good spit-swapper, too." 

"Fine then. Have the girls all stand up in a line for me. A kiss is no good sitting down. Too tempting." 

Hesitantly, Mai, Tea, Isis, and Serenity all lined up in front of Kaiba, looking nervous and a bit outraged themselves. Joey looked ready to kill, being held back by Ryou and Yugi, should the worst happen. Tristan and Duke hung back in the corner, Mokuba just sat there looking disgusted (still believing girls possessed cooties), and Malik drank it all in with gratifying satisfaction. At last. Chaos would be unleashed. 

Kaiba stepped forward, and dragged his eyes over each of the four until he stopped at Serenity. He didn't give his smirk time to appear on his face. Leaping in for the kill, he grabbed Serenity's shoulders, crushing her against him as his lips slammed upon hers. Tea gave a small scream as the others quickly dove to pull Joey back. "You bastard!" Joey screamed, and even worse obscenities streamed forth from his mouth. Malik only laughed, clapping his hands gleefully. This was better than he imagined. Joey was absolutely livid, and though he had eight people pinning him down, he was still struggling to break free and disembowel Kaiba with his bare hands. 

Serenity became frozen at the ferocity of Kaiba's kiss, but when her nerves melted, before she could fight him, her body betrayed her and her mouth began responding to this not-so-gentle caress. But when feeling her response, Kaiba's lips loosened considerably to a tender invasion that made her gladly give him way. She closed her eyes as his hands released their death grip on her shoulders and made a path down her sides. Kaiba opened his eyes, the azure orbs dancing with their own psychotic laughter as they glared sadistically at Joey. Joey stopped his struggling as his gaze locked with Kaiba's. Making sure Joey was watching intensely, Kaiba closed his eyes again as one of his hands lowered and squeezed Serenity's small ass, grinding their hips together, groaning long and loudly so that Joey could hear. 

Drowning in the heat of his passionate kiss, Serenity wasn't even close to prepared when Kaiba suddenly pushed her away from him. "Relax, my dear, it's not you I want," he growled. "There is no one here I want to sleep with. This game was becoming a bore. I just wanted to spice things up a bit." 

Malik glared at Kaiba, amethyst eyes clearing stating Liar. 

Kaiba simply smirked and walked away. Even Mokuba blinked at him. His brother...didn't just...no...he didn't!

Instantly, Joey was by Serenity's side, taking her protectively in his arms. "Serenity, are you okay!?"

"I'm fine, big brother," Serenity replied, shocked that her voice was steady. Maybe she was okay. But her heart could not say the same thing. In fact, it felt like it had exploded, and the blood was dripping from Kaiba's hands. 

~*~

The night drawled on as if it were to last for eternity. The silence of the grand blimp was broken only by the soft steps of socks upon the tiled floor, tiptoeing quietly to a room that was located farther away from the others, the owner of such a room wanting nothing more than perfect solitude. Heart quaking, she couldn't shy away now as Serenity slowly slid open the door to the bedroom, knowing that he had to be in there. She had no particular plan in mind aside from talking to him about what had ensued between them that evening. She could still feel the bruise of his kiss on her mouth, the erotic feeling of their bodies pressed so tightly together, fitting perfectly as in a primal puzzle. 

However, Kaiba was not in his room. It stood as bleak and empty as his dark heart, and she shivered from the cold that emitted from within. Either it was from a symbolic sense or the raging air conditioner that frosted the atmosphere here, she could not decide. The room itself was not as luxurious as she had expected the master room of this voluminous blimp to be. In fact, if truth be told, it was even emptier than her own guest room, consisting nothing more than a small bed, a dresser, and a nighttable with a lamp that knew it would never be turned on tonight. The walls reflected the eerie glow of a computer screen as a laptop sat upon the dresser, the screensaver nothing more than a patch of flashing cobalt. 

Serenity shivered. She was wrong in coming in here. She turned around to leave, but instead found herself looking at a black chest. She raised her eyes slowly, her height barely reaching the broad shoulders, and found her amber gaze being sliced by icy oceanic irises that were both curious and suspicious and all out angry. 

"What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?" Kaiba demanded, nothing more than a hiss of breath but doing far more damage than screaming could ever hope to accomplish. 

  
"I-I-I'm sorry," Serenity apologized, voice wavering in near panic. "I-I was only tr-trying to..." 

"This is MY bedroom; you are not supposed to be in here!" 

"I'm sorry..." she tried again. 

Kaiba continued to glare at her in a dangerous fashion. "Yeah," he whispered. He began walking toward the door, and slammed it shut. He then locked it, crashing any hopes she had of escape. He turned back toward her, and she suddenly found herself unable to find which was more terrifying: his rage or the gleam of lust that had inhabited his eyes. "Yeah, you're gonna be sorry, all right." 

"I only wanted to talk to you!" Serenity cried desperately. 

"Save it," Kaiba snapped. "No amount of talking it going to spare you from the punishment I have in store for you." 

"I didn't mean to break into your room!"

At first, Kaiba stared at her. Then he threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Do you think that's the only reason I am punishing you?" He shook his head, cinnamon locks swaying from the motion. "So naive. No doubt a virgin, ne? Good. I like virgins." 

She gasped as he advanced toward her, taking a step back with every step forward he took. She could not break that intense gaze, her heart beating so loud, it seemed to echo throughout the entire room. A tiny cry escaped her when her back hit the edge of the bed and she fell. Kaiba quickly snatched her in his arms before she fell onto the suddenly inviting white sheets. "Don't be so quick, my dear," he whispered thickly. "We'll be going in that direction sooner than you think." 

Her face flared. She wasn't naive enough not to know what he was implying. "You made a grave mistake coming in here tonight, baby," he groaned, eyes still holding her undivided attention. Yeah, that was kind of obvious to her now. She regretted ever meeting this guy. 

Mustering up all the courage she had left, she spat with classic Wheeler furiousness, "Let me go, or you'll regret it, Kaiba! When Joey finds out what you're doing--"

Kaiba laughed again. "I sincerely hope he does." 

Anger was taking over her fear, but it was a careless anger, an emotion that would make her do careless things that would only lead her to even more precarious terrain. Like trying to slap Kaiba's smirk on his face for instance. Lord knows she tried, but Kaiba's reflexes were those of a jungle feline and he caught her wrist before she could make contact. He giggled, actually giggled. "Feisty little piece of pussy, aren't we?" 

Her jaw dropped. "YOU ASSHOLE!" she screamed, tears gathering in her eyes. She tried to slap him with her other hand, but Kaiba caught that one, too. 

"Now this is more like it," he drawled, mouth several centimeters from hers. It was then she could smell beneath the masculine breath the yeast of drink. She had heard Joey's proclamation of a liquor finery located by the blimp's kitchen, and from the smell of things, Kaiba had one bottle too many. Though he did not sound drunk and seemed to be perfectly in control of himself, it was obvious Kaiba was on the edge, balancing on the fine line of consciousness and pure drunkenness. He shoved her onto the bed and crawled on top of her, one leg on either side of her, still keeping her wrists pinned above her head. "Now for your punishment," he growled softly, and, despite her struggles, he claimed her mouth with his once again. This time, he went even further, shoving his tongue through her unprepared lips. 

She wanted to be repelled, launch her cookies in his face or something, that'll teach him, but instead she found herself weakening willingly to his embrace. His advances, as rough as they were, still held a tenderness to him, as if he were doing this more out of need than lust. He released one of his hands from her wrists and began running it down the side of her face, her neck, finding the zipper at the top of her collar and with one liquid motion, parted her shirt open, exposing her baby-blue bra to him. 

He pulled slowly away, eyes drifting down to her breasts. "Oh, how cute, little boobs," he remarked wickedly. His mouth then began nibbling her ear and under it, inhaling deeply as he drank in her sweet  languor. "But I like them." He lowered his head to devour her neck, rolling his tongue along the jugular vein causing her to gasp with need. 

"K-K-Kaiba," she groaned, finding herself arching against him, feeling his hard length through the material of his leather pants. 

He lifted his head to look at her, almost pouting. "Must you call me that?" he said. "Why don't you call me by my name? Say it, Serenity. Say my name. Say _Seto._" 

She could if she could keep herself from spiraling down this whirlpool of sensations he was shoving her into. Serenity could barely hear him over her thundering heart. At least she could take comfort in knowing that technically speaking, she wasn't being raped. Actually, if she didn't have the virtue not to admit it, she would say she was enjoying his touch, and wanted more, so much more. "S-Seto..." she breathed, followed by a groan as he chuckled against her heated skin. His body shook with pleasure at the sound of his name from her mouth. As if trusting her, he released her wrists all together. But instead of trying to fight him, Serenity grasped his hair and pulled him further against her, savoring this feeling as much as she could. Okay, fine. Screw virtue. Dammit, she was loving what he was doing to her.

Clothes soon found themselves rudely abandoned to the floor as the couple made passionate love, both losing themselves in ecstasy. Serenity wondered if these metal walls were soundproof, but she soon didn't care as Seto's hands and tongue drove her to realms of pleasure she never knew existed. Apparently, business and dueling were not the only skills he possessed. 

The climax left them breathless and hardly able to move. For a minute they both just lay there. Kaiba was the first to move, raising himself on his elbows, preparing to leave, but was caught by surprise when Serenity pulled him back down. "Stay with me," she breathed, begging for his body to remain close to hers. Kaiba's eyes widened at first, but then he smiled, a true genuine smile as he laid back down on the mattress. He lay on his back, cradling Serenity's head under his chin as she snuggled against his body. His eyes began to drift as he pulled the white sheet over them, and soon they both fell into a deep sleep in each other's arms. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*looks around* Oh, dear, I hope I didn't offend anyone in this chapter. Kaiba got drunk. Oh, well, had to explain is rather OOCness somehow. Hope the naughty naughty scene wasn't too much for you. But what else do you expect for a rated 'R' story????


	2. When Kaiba Returns

Well, here is the second installment of the story. The problem is now revealed and will probably be a big slap in your face as it was in my friends. (^_^) Another couple is revealed in here, too, mostly as a comedy relief, which I think you would all enjoy. Seto is an even bigger ass than he usually is. Reasons are sort of explained later. Wow, this chapter is just full of stuff. Okay, I'm gonna shut up and let you read. Disclaimer?? Okay, look at my screen name. I don't think someone with a screen name such as mine should be allowed to even write YGO fanfiction…but she does anyway. XD

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

-1-

**When Kaiba Returns**

~*~

_Seven years later…_

The scent of sweat-slicked bodies overwhelmed her as she and her husband climaxed together. "Beautiful as always, my sweet Serenity," he whispered against her hair, unable to keep from caressing her as he nuzzled his face against hers.  

Despite the three years of marriage, she found herself blushing. Damn, would she never get rid of the inner virgin? "Not as beautiful as you, my husband," she replied, running her fingers gently through silky strands of sand-blonde hair. 

Malik chuckled as he raised himself on his elbows. "As much as I would love to prove you wrong, beloved, I have to go to work." 

Serenity Ishtar pouted. "Now?" 

"Beloved, if I don't leave now, I'm going to be late. Can't keep my patients waiting." 

She sighed. "I just can't compete with the hectic schedule of a psychiatrist [1], now can I?" 

Amethyst eyes glowing with love, Malik's mocha fingers began stroking her face tenderly. "I'll be sure to make it up to you," he vowed softly. "Besides," he added as if a thought struck him. "Don't you have a company to watch? Mr. Kaiba is not going to be pleased if his secretary is late for work." 

Serenity rolled her eyes. "You know I don't go into work for another three hours. You're just making up excuses." Unable to keep a straight face anymore, she broke into a grin. "Fine. You win. But I'm keeping you to your promise." 

Malik titled his head to one side. "What promise?"

Exasperated, Serenity picked up a pillow and began beating him with it. "Feisty, aren't we?" he demanded playfully. 

Suddenly she stopped, amber eyes lowering as she dropped the pillow. Instantly, Malik grew concerned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Love? Is something wrong? If I said anything--"

She snapped back to reality, eyes wide. "Oh, no! I just forgot something I was to get for Mr. Kaiba today," she replied. "Looks I have to leave here early after all. I have to go by Kiko's to copy some files." 

Malik smiled with relief. "Oh. Okay." Serenity sighed as she watched him stand up, slipping his bathrobe on as he disappeared into the bathroom. She hated lying to her husband, but no amount of understanding he may have would stand a chance against this. She sighed deeply, unable to understand it herself. How could something that haunted her for the past seven years still be so vivid in her mind? How was it she couldn't get Seto Kaiba out of her memory? 

~*~

Okay, Serenity hadn't totally lied. Turned out, she had indeed needed to copy some files for Mr. Kaiba, so her conscience became clear. After departing Kiko's Copies, she made her way for another eventful day at Kaiba Corporation. It was the usual. She rode the subway to what felt like the other side of Domino, contemplating on how lucky she was to be living this life. She was married to a wonderful husband, living a comfortable life in a fairly good-sized apartment in a neighborhood that was neither too crowded nor too empty. 

She sipped her daily cup of coffee slowly, some American brand known as Starbucks [2] that was quite appealing to her. She felt extremely sleepy, but that was no surprise, considering her and Malik still acted like newlyweds after three years of marriage. Always the comforting type, Serenity had been there for Malik for the past seven years, helping him overcome his ordeal with Yami no Malik and trying to adjust to life. Eventually, the two of them had fallen in love, were engaged for a year, and married for three years, three years and two months to be exact. She sighed as she watched the silver buildings glide by her window. Life was good. It was simple, and with Malik in it, the daily routine always had a surprise or two. And don't get her started on their sex life. Regular sex was always good, but a toy or two did make things more interesting, and Malik, after buying a book of the over 500 positions a couple can achieve as a first year anniversary gift, wanted to try every one of them. Serenity had to decline more than several, knowing she wasn't acrobatic enough to accomplish such goals. 

Another aspect of Malik's side affects from the Shennen Rod: he tended to be oversexed, always needing some more than once a week. It could be said that it was amazing Serenity wasn't pregnant yet, and even Malik had commented more than once on it. Serenity didn't tell Malik, but she had been taking a birth control pill throughout her entire union with him. Not that she didn't want a child. It broke her heart thinking she couldn't grant Malik a son or daughter, but she had her reasons. 

She crushed her empty coffee cup and tossed it in a nearby trashcan as the train pulled toward her stop. Walking with the crowd of many suits and dresses, she stepped out of the subway and advanced towards the intimating silver edifice known as Kaiba Corporation. Smiling to the woman at the front desk, she approached the elevators, and rode up to the top floor of the building where the main office was located. 

As she entered her own little office, she was surprised to see two workers exit Mr. Kaiba's office, looking quite pale. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Ishtar," one of the men greeted warmly. "Watch yourself. Mr. Kaiba is in a hellish mood today." Serenity titled her head as she watched the men depart. Something was wrong with Mr. Kaiba? She'd better check up on him. Not scared in the least, for she knew Mr. Kaiba very well, she approached the door. "Mr. Kaiba?" she called as she knocked. 

"Come in!" came the growl. She did so, opening the door to reveal the raven-haired teen leaning over a bunch of papers. He looked up, glaring at first, but soon his blood-indigo eyes warmed over upon recognizing her. "Oh, hey, Serenity! How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Mokuba, like all my other friends." 

She smiled. "Those men told me that you are in a hellish mood," she explained. "I figured it would be best to approach you as politely as possible." 

Mokuba snorted. "Don't worry about them."

"So, what made them think you are in a hellish mood?" Serenity inquired. Like any other 18-year-old, Mokuba had a habit of changing the subject on whim. 

He rolled his eyes heavenward. "Ah, you know how workers are." 

She cocked a brow. 

"Well, I guess I did get a bit peed-off when I realized that they lost my brother's luggage at the airport. You know how Seto's attitude tends to rub off on me, even now." He grinned, but it faded a bit as he looked at Serenity. "Oh, I forgot to tell you!" he exclaimed, misreading Serenity's shocked expression. "Yeah, Seto's coming back today from the States!" 

"Is...he...?" 

"Uh-huh. It's only for a short visitation though. A couple months. Then he has to go back for another ten or so years." Despite trying to be light-hearted on the situation, Serenity could sense the slight resentment in the teen's demeanor. She understood that Mokuba had never wanted to take on Kaiba Corp., claiming to not have the skills nor intelligence his brother possessed, but here he was the head of Kaiba Corporation Japan anyway as Seto became the head of Kaiba Corporation America. The corporation had expanded its empire, and the older Kaiba had to move to New York City in the States some five or so years ago. Seto didn't even bother showing up for Serenity's wedding two years later...not that she had really cared or anything. 

"So when he is supposed to come?" she inquired. 

"He was at the airport over here when he called," Mokuba replied, once again swinging into his happy mood. "Should be here in an hour or so." 

Great.

Mokuba seemed to want to continue with how happy he was Kaiba was finally returning, when the door swung open, revealing a 16-year-old girl with golden blonde hair pulled back in pair of ponytails, emerald eyes flashing. "Hey, baby!" Mokuba called slightly surprised. "What are you doing here?" 

Rebecca Hawkings seemed to grow angrier by his cheery nature, marching forward and slamming her hands on the desk. "Don't you _baby_ me!" she yelled. "You left a freakin' mess last night! My grandfather came in to wake me this morning and I was lucky my room was too dark for him to notice the condoms that were littering the floor!"

"Uh...Reb, now's not exactly a good time to be discussing this," Mokuba muttered through clenched teeth, eyes shifting from Rebecca to Serenity and back to Rebecca, his face glowing vibrantly. 

"We're not discussing it!" Rebecca yelled, ignoring her boyfriend's state of discomfort. "This is a one sided conversation, buddy!" 

"But can't this wait?" 

"NO!!!! Another mistake like this could find me at a boarding school in Switzerland! Next time you decide to bail after making love to me, clean up your mess first!" Sighing with disgust, Rebecca turned her smile to Serenity. "It must be so awesome to be married," she gushed. "I'm trying to get Mokuba here to make a commitment, but he seems to want only the sex." 

It didn't seem possible, but Mokuba's face turned even redder. "Rebecca, we're too young to get married!" he protested. 

"Shut up!" Rebecca shot back. "No one asked you for your opinion!" 

Mokuba sat back in the leather rolly-chair, wishing it would swallow him up and take him to the Underworld. 

Serenity smiled sympathetically at her young boss. "I'll just be at work now, Mr. Kaiba," she declared and quickly exited the office, closing the door to the yelling that continued to ensue. Rebecca was tough that was for sure, and any guy with lesser sensitivity or maturity than Mokuba would have left her long ago. But the teenagers' relationship had been highly active for the past two years and still going strong. It was obvious the two were madly in love with each other. Rebecca proved it often by yelling at young Kaiba whenever he got out of shape. Mokuba often described Rebecca's rage being a part of her cuteness and that it turned him on really. After about fifteen minutes of typing and gathering papers together, Serenity noticed the yelling had subsided. She decided to do a quick checkup to make sure Mokuba was still alive, opening the door ever so slightly, just enough to give her line of vision some room. 

Rebecca was sitting on the edge of the desk, her legs wrapped around Mokuba's waist as the two were lost in a lip-lock. Serenity sighed deeply, inaudibly. Ah, young love. It was so cute watching the two, but when Mokuba's hand started sliding up Rebecca's shirt, that was more than enough of a cue to leave the party. Serenity quietly closed the door, and continued with her work. 

An uneventful hour or so passed, a few phone-calls coming in for Mokuba, all to which Serenity had to inform them he was extremely busy or out of the office completely. Then the door opened as Rebecca departed. "Bye, Serenity!" she called happily, her clothes slightly askew, hair redone completely, this time in just a single ponytail, and looking quite pleased with herself. Serenity took her list of messages to Mokuba, who was whirling around and around in the chair, a boyish smirk lighting up his face. "Just place them on the desk, Serenity," he informed her, his voice a bit thicker than usual. 

Serenity just shook her head with a smile. If only Kaiba knew exactly what excursions went on in his office...

Then she realized that it was not Kaiba's office anymore. She really needed to quit thinking like he was still around. Whatever happened seven years ago, it was over. Done with. The past was the past. 

She turned around to return to her desk, when she froze in her tracks, a chill paralyzing her outer body, her gut burning slightly with a rekindled flame. It was if her thoughts had materialized for _he_ stood there at the office door, cobalt eyes glaring like sun-reflected glaciers. "Hey, big brother, what's up!?" Mokuba exclaimed happily, innocently oblivious to the biting chill that swarmed uninviting into the room. 

"Hello, Mokuba," Seto Kaiba replied. His eyes, however, never left Serenity's, keeping their gazes locked as they stared at each other. "Hello, Serenity." His voice seemed softer but no less cold. 

Serenity gulped inaudibly, shivering. "H...hello, K-Kaiba." As much as she hated it, her body awoke instantly, like a bitch having heard the return of her master. Her breath quickened as he advanced. At 23-years he didn't look that much different. His face was still perfectly shaved, but his hair a little longer at the nape, bangs a tad more free and daring. Other than that, he was pretty much the same cold, jackass self. 

"I trust you have been well...Mrs. Ishtar?" he inquired darkly. 

Refusing to give in to whatever silent challenge he was proposing, Serenity replied with more viciousness than she intended, "Yes, as a matter of fact, my husband Malik and I are doing very well, thank you very much." 

Mokuba's brows raised, but he decided it best to stay out of this secret battle. Seto, however, continued to stare Serenity down. Having not a clue what had occurred between the two, Mokuba spoke up in hopes of breaking tension, "So, Seto, how was New York?" 

"No different from this place," Kaiba snapped still not looking at him. "Narrow, cold, and too crowded. They have excellent pizza though, I'll give it that much." He allowed his eyes to trail seductively along Serenity's body. "The company wasn't as great, either. They don't scream as loud." 

Mokuba looked extremely confused, but Serenity was shaking violently, livid with rage. That bastard! He was doing this deliberately! He knew fully well that she was married to Malik Ishtar! And yet he continued to bring up something that happened almost a decade ago! Still, the seven year lapse didn't do much to help her any. Despite her three year marriage, Serenity found herself waking up in the middle of the night with Kaiba's name resting just on the tip of her lips. Sometimes, when Malik and she made love, she couldn't help but imagine it was Kaiba's body she was touching and holding. A secret fantasy that played itself again and again in her mind for the past seven years. Five years ago, Kaiba had vanished from her life, and just when she thought those fantasies would be gone, he came back like a phantom from an old war. And those fantasies returned with him tenfold. She realized with a nasty shock that she was just a mere few feet away from making all of those fantasies come true...had Mokuba not been the room. 

"If you'll excuse me, Kaiba," she spoke up softly with a bow, "I'd better get back to work." 

It was hard to concentrate now that Kaiba had made this unexpected return. She could feel his eyes caressing her body just as his hands..._no!_ She could not think about that! Not only was it pointless, but was totally morally wrong! She was married now! To Malik! Only he should be the subject of her more private thoughts. 

And yet her body whined for Seto. They didn't even do all that much seven years ago. What would've happened had they had at least ten more minutes...?

NO! No, no, no!!

_And he walked out on you,_ the sensible part of her pointed out. _How could you still want him if he deliberately abandoned you, pretending the sex never happened? _

For some reason, that thought made her heart break. 

_Why are you sad? You're married now to a wonderful man who has done more for you than that oversexed pig could ever do!_

_I know, but I still can't forget Seto._

_Try!_

_I have been trying for the past seven years!_

_Have you? Or are you just bullshitting yourself? _

Serenity was flung out of her own mental argument when Kaiba departed Mokuba's office. She held her breath as he coldly brushed past, trench coat fluttering with its symbol of power. But before she could exhale her relief, he stopped, changed his mind, and marched back to her. "Have you forgotten something, Mr. Kaiba?" she inquired as politely as she could, hoping her voice didn't shake as her heart did. 

"Yes, to give you my congratulations to your marriage, Mrs. Ishtar," he replied tonelessly. "Though I must say, Serenity _Kaiba_ fits you far better." 

"Mokuba already has a girlfriend," she informed him without missing a beat. Being married to Malik had taught her many things, including spitting out clever comebacks almost as fast as Kaiba could. 

It was certainly a slap on Kaiba's testicles, to say the least, but he chuckled anyway, leaned over and took her chin in his hand. "I'm pleased to see you still have that same fire you did seven years ago." He released her chin and sat sideways on the edge of the desk, leering down at her viciously. "Tell me, does Ishtar make you scream as loud as I did?" 

Not even wanting to think about it, Serenity yelled, "Why do you keep bringing it up!? It happened seven YEARS ago! It's over and done with! Besides, _you're_ the one who walked away, _you're_ the one who wanted to pretend it never happened!" 

Kaiba grinned, a malicious grin that reminded her of the crocodile she saw on the Discovery Channel once right before it mauled a gazelle. "What if I told you I was in love with you and can't forget the glorious hot sex we had?" he purred. 

"I'd say that's a cock of bullshit." 

"Whoa!" He laughed mockingly, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "Easy, easy! Those are big words for a little girl." 

"I'm twenty-one, sir, hardly a little girl," she growled back acidly. 

His hands dropped as the azure eyes drifted provocatively to her chest. "Yeah, I can see that." 

She quickly turned away, face flaring with shame and humiliation. Granted, her breasts had grown with age, but not much, still couldn't hope to compete with Tea's or Mai's. Even Isis's bust looked more promising. Tears of pure embarrassment threatened to spill and in front of Kaiba no less. Why her? Why was she to be subjugated with this suffering? Punishment for giving into Seto Kaiba's well-placed touch and skilled tongue? She couldn't feel any more remorseful and guilty than she already did. Every waking moment she regretted having slept with Seto Kaiba on their way home in Battle Ship some seven years ago, losing her innocence as he shamelessly pumped into her while her brother and friends slept cluelessly several halls away. It was a miracle Serenity had not turned up pregnant because of that stupid mistake. She had not been on any type of birth control, and Kaiba hadn't possessed any type of protection. "Adam and Eve sex" as Malik called it when it was only the couple and their primal instincts. 

Suddenly, Serenity became aware of hot breath next to her ear, and an arm wrapping around her waist. Kaiba kneeled next to her chair, nuzzling the skin behind her ear as he held her tightly. "I may not be in love with you," he whispered, hot breath tickling the tiny hairs of her flesh in a sexy, forbidden manner, "but I was not lying when I said I couldn't forget you. I can't. You've been haunting my dreams every night for the past seven years, ever since I took your virginity and you took mine. I was your first, and you were my first, does that not mean anything to you?" Her breath stilled as his hand slid under shirt, scalding palm dragging slowly across her tightened stomach. His lips brushed against her ear as he whispered so softly, she had to strain to hear it over the sound of his heavy breathing and her racing heart. "Come back to me, Serenity. Normally, I don't beg, but you are worth it. I want you back in my bed. Come on, Serenity. Come back to me." 

She felt her eyes drift close, her body responding alarmingly to his while warning signals flashed ignored in her brain. But the spell Kaiba was casting upon her broke when she felt his tongue lick the curves of her ear. Serenity leaped up so fast, the chair fell with a loud crash and she pressed herself tightly against the wall. "How _dare_ you suggest I leave my husband!" she shrieked. "What makes you think I would trade in Malik for scum like _you_ who isn't even worth the dirt under my shoes!? Get outta here, Kaiba! Just leave!" 

Kaiba stood up but he continued with that sadistic snigger of his. "Have you forgotten everything Malik did? To your brother, especially?"

Serenity's eyes narrowed dangerously. "First of all, Malik was under the spell of Yami no Malik and your precious Shennen Rod. Second, everything Malik did was trivial compared to all you've done! At least Malik didn't _rape_ me!" 

The last sentence was out of her mouth before she could call it back. She knew Kaiba didn't rape her because she had wanted it, too, but if she were trying to make Kaiba explode, she would've been pleased with the results. Twin sapphires casting lightning in thunderous rage, he was in front of her in three strides of those impossibly long legs, gripping her shoulders hard enough to make her give a small cry in pain. "Don't you ever say that again!" he shouted angrily. "In case your selective memory has failed you, you were _screaming_ my name as I pleasured you, you filthy slut! Rape, huh? Is that what you told your brother, you bitch!? Did you go yapping to that braying ass and his friends that I _raped_ you!?!"

Tears were streaming down Serenity's face uncontrollably. "I didn't tell anyone about us!" she wailed, sob after sob erupting from her throat. "I knew that if I did, they would hurt you, so I kept our night a secret!"

Instantly Kaiba released her shoulders, taking a step back. "Yeah, right," he snorted, shimmering cobalt orbs slicing her heart into tiny, gory pieces. "You just didn't want to reveal to them the little whore you really are." 

"Serenity is _not_ a whore!" came an angry outcry. 

The couple turned to see Mokuba standing in the doorway, blood-indigo eyes shifting from one face to the other. "What the hell is going on out here? I hear a crash, I see my brother harassing my secretary and one of my friends, and then she being called a whore in the process. Care to explain, Seto?" 

"Why don't you ask her?" Kaiba spat, pointing rudely at Serenity. "Careful you don't become too sympathetic, though. She might bewitch you and then run her dirty yap to Rebecca, and you'll be in big trouble then, won't you little brother?" 

The 18-year-old's jaw dropped with shock but Kaiba ignored him as he stomped out of the office. Serenity vigorously wiped her eyes, feeling the aching bruises on her shoulders from Kaiba's death grip. She looked into Mokuba's concerned expression as he gently touched her arm. "Serenity, let's take a drive," he suggested softly. "You are my friend, and I want to know everything that just happened." 

~*~

_Their panting seemed to echo across the dark room, the sweat on their skin gleaming like rhinestones in the reflection of the blue screensaver on the witnessing laptop. Their climax had been violent, making Seto crave for more as he buried his face in the crook of Serenity's neck. _

_"Seto..." she whispered amidst her heavy breathing. _

_"What?" he inquired softly, finding himself seeking the warmth of her lips again. _

_She broke the kiss, lips brushing against his as she replied, "Please, don't tell anyone about this." _

_"Why?" he asked, in between nipping her mouth. _

_"I just don't want anyone to know." _

_"I want you, and you want me, what's wrong with that?" _

_She didn't give a reason, only pleading, "Just please don't tell."_

And Kaiba had honored that request. In fact, he thought as he sped down the highway in his Eclipse Spider, not only did he not tell anyone about what he and Serenity had done, he went of his way to make sure that they hadn't interacted at all after Battle Ship. As much as Kaiba would love to see the expression on Joey's face when the mutt found out his worst enemy had fucked his little sister's brains out and she loved every minute of it, Kaiba kept his honor and hers by keeping his lips sealed. And it seemed easier when he had to move to the States to run Kaiba Corporation America in New York City. 

That's when Kaiba found out Serenity had become engaged to Ishtar, and that was the shit that hit the fan. Of all people, Ishtar was probably the one person Wheeler hated even more so than Kaiba himself, and yet that slobbering canine allowed his precious little sister marry him!?! At least Kaiba didn't take over Joey's mind (provided there was anything there to take over), kill people for the sheer hell of it, and banish feeble individuals to the Shadow Realm left and right. Yes, Kaiba now possessed the Shennen Rod, but it did nothing more than sit in his trench coat looking pretty. 

Well, that was going to have to change. Kaiba will get Serenity back and at the same time expose her for the lying two-faced slut she really was. 

Time to see if the Shennen Rod worked well for him as it did for Malik. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

[1]—Thinking of occupations for Malik, my friend Kassie and I decided that he would make the most excellent psychiatrist. XD

[2]—That stuff is the shit!!! ^_^ 

~*~

Yeah, Kaiba got meaner. It's kinda understandable. Review, and perhaps we shall find out how he plans on using the Shennen Rod to get Serenity back. 


	3. Abandoned

Wow, I got a lot  reviews for this story. Didn't expect people to like it so much. But then again, all SetoxShizuka stories I have read are good ones, so I guess its little wonder why people like it so much. I'm at a hotel right now with my dad and my little brother. We just got back from swimming in the indoor pool. This was the first time I've been swimming since May. I know, I have not gone swimming all summer. Pretty bad, huh? Dad's watching football right now. UGH! Hockey 'tis be much better. HOCKEY!!! XD 

So how was everyone's Christmas?? Mine was great. I am probably one of the few 18-year-old girls out there who receive Yu-Gi-Oh! stuff for Christmas from her family. I got a Gameboy SP, The Scared Cards, and the Dungeon Dice Monsters DVD. Dubbed, granted, but Otogi's a hottie so I'm not complaining. XD The Sacred Cards is an awesome game! It's more than just dueling, but an actual RPG game! All the characters are chibis and they look so adorable! Especially Kaiba! He's a big head, and big hair, and an itty-bitty body. They look like little virtual plushies! XD The only problem I have with that game is that you have to play the part of a boy and people call you "punk", "boy", "bro", and "dude". XP Sexist pigs. Why can't they have a "Choose Your Gender" option? ^_~*

Saw _The Return of the King _last night. OMG, I cried like a freakin' baby. I was bawling in the seat. We had second-row seats and it was the most intense movie I ever saw. I am torn between _The Fellowship of the Ring _and _The Return of the King. The Two Towers _was a bit boring in my opinion. _The Fellowship _was so funny and lighthearted and _The Return _was so intense and moving. Gah! I'm torn!

Okay, I'm going to shut up now so you all can read. 

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh! there would be a lot more Kaiba butt-shots, Kaiba shirtless, and chibi Kaiba! XD

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Two 

**Abandoned**

~*~

Damn it all! How did Malik use this thing!?

As if it would help, Kaiba gripped the dull golden Item in his hands and shook it with all he was worth. Stupid piece of ancient junk! What, was he not good enough for it or something? Didn't those nutcases tell him that he was once the holder of the Shennen Rod? So why won't it work?!

Seeing since shaking was not helping matters any, Kaiba stood there on his balcony growling at it, eyes ripping it to shreds with their infamous oceanic death glare. Though he wasn't doing it for any specific reason other than he always growled and glared when he was trying to figure something out, it looked as though he was trying to intimidate the Rod into working properly. It could be maybe that his reasons for using it had something to do with how the Rod worked. Maybe his thoughts were too malicious, too selfish that it decided not to activate. 

Okay, that was about the lamest thought he could ever have! First of all, the Shennen Rod, magical or not, was an inanimate object, incapable of thinking on its own! Second, Malik used the Shennen Item to kill people, torture minds, and basically destroy the world. Kaiba, for once, wasn't after power. He didn't want to take over the world, considering he had no idea what to do with it if he did, and he didn't want to kill anyone…except maybe Joey, but he'll do that his own way. He just wanted his girlfriend back, damn it!

Well if truth be told, Serenity was not his girlfriend and she was actually married to someone else…but those were minor technicalities. 

As he glared at the Rod, he got a faint sensation within him that somehow the Rod was laughing at him. Of course, the situation was rather funny. Here he was the original holder of the Shennen Rod and he had not a clue how to use it, whereas this other guy who had _stolen _the Rod went prancing around with the expertise of a professional! Why was it Seto Kaiba always managed to fall victim to these humiliating ironies? Like how an uneducated idiot like Joey Wheeler, who, despite his lack of brain-cells, could cook a mean meal, and he, Seto Kaiba the genius, superior to almost all with his skills and intelligence, couldn't so much as make a bowl of soup without burning either it or himself or both. 

It just wasn't fair! And how does one manage to burn a bowl of soup? Very carefully, he guessed.

Sighing with disgust, Kaiba shot the Rod one last glare before going back into his bedroom. Even a sunny day such as this one did not cheer him up, and he usually liked standing out in his balcony looking out towards the mountains, away from the chaos and hustle-bustle of the city. Maybe he'll spend a few days at the beach house. If anything, he loved the sea, the calming effect it had on him. Looking out at a cerulean being under the red and gold and purple of dusk, its shifting tides like horses running to the shore with white manes flowing endlessly was something that always captivated him, sweeping him to places he always wanted to be; away from here, away from these unfeeling shells people had the nerve to call humans. 

He fell on his back upon the bed, staring up at the ceiling, long fingers curling and uncurling around the Rod at his side. 

He knew he wasn't human. No way could a soul as black as his could be anything remotely close to human. But, looking around at his fellow beings, if being human meant hurting those around you, thinking only of yourself, using others endlessly to get what you want, then yeah, maybe he was human. As he mused, he thought of Yugi and his groupies. Yeah, they'll get theirs one day. Things like love and friendship, those were only temporary. No matter how many friends you have and how much you love, eventually you will be abandoned. There was no way around it. 

A familiar ache began to stir within Kaiba and he rolled over onto his side. He fingered the Shennen Rod gently, eyes fading out of focus.

Yes, everyone Seto had ever loved had abandoned him in one form or another. His parents had abandoned him through death. His stepfather, Gozaburo, had abandoned him by abuse after heart-wrenching abuse. His brother…Mokuba was growing older, he had no need for his big brother anymore. Instead of singing Seto's praises, now all the 18-year-old could do was talk about his girlfriend, Rebecca. Seto could tell Mokuba was extremely happy with Rebecca and madly in love with her. What use could he have for Seto now that he had found someone else to make him happy? 

And Serenity. He could remember those words vividly as if she were right here, lying beside him, whispering them into his ear as her lips brushed against the sensitive flesh:

_"Please, don't tell." _

Not that Seto was going to waltz around Battle Ship, announcing he had slept with Serenity, but eventually, if there was to be a relationship, he wanted to let others know. Of course he didn't care what anyone else thought, but the way she had said those words sounded like she had been ashamed of him, of being with him. That _he _was not good enough for her, not worth the dirt under her shoes. So, in revenge he had abandoned _her, _pretending he had never slept with her, just to make her see what it felt like being alone and abandoned.

He was on his stomach now, gritting his teeth, as the ache grew stronger in his heart. This always happened, whenever he was completely alone. This was what went on with Seto Kaiba behind the scenes, when loneliness hit him the most. Bottled up feelings he had never revealed to anyone, not even his own brother, claimed his dying heart and seemed to rip it to shreds. 

The Rod under his fingers began to glow ever so slightly. 

Restless, he flipped back on his back as a new memory invaded his brain. He was a child again, a mere thirteen years, and he and his stepfather were going at it again. It was the one and only time Seto could remember that he had ever revealed his feelings to someone. And the results had been devastating. 

"If you have no desire to run Kaiba Corp. in my stead, then why did you challenge me to that chess game?" 

_"I just wanted my brother and I out of that hell-hole! And I was going to do it by any means necessary!"_

_"That's a lie! I can see it in your eyes. You're allowing your emotions to show again, Seto. That is not good if you want to make it anywhere in the world. Now tell me the truth. You claim you don't want to run Kaiba Corp. and yet you are stealing it from me right from under my nose!" _

_Thrash! _

_"You screamed, Seto. Didn't I tell you that you need to subjugate your pain?"_

_Thrash!_

_"That's better. However, I am not going to stop until you are absolutely silent. Now tell me the truth! Why did you challenge me to that game of chess?!"_

_"The media…the media gave you an image of being someone who could love us, take care of us. That's what I wanted. If not for me, I wanted Mokuba to have a happy childhood." A gasp for air as the pain burned through his back, the blood oozing out of the slices of flesh onto the pure white sheets. "I thought…I thought you could love us. That's all I wanted. I just wanted to be loved. Why does this have to be this way!? Why can't you just love me!?! Why can't you be my father!?"_

_Thrash! Another scream, louder than the others. _

_"Love? You foolish boy! Love does not exist! It is merely a temporary emotion to give to others in exchange for what you want. Once you give someone what they want, they stop loving you and move on to prey on others, leaving you cold and alone. The media may have painted illusions on me to fool worthless maggots like you, but I am no illusion here nor am I about you give you any. Love. HA! You make me sick, Seto. You always have. Your sensitivity is a huge weakness on this company. Like right now. You're crying. You're trying to hold back your tears, but yet they are falling uncontrollably. You're weak, and therefore that makes you worthless! You are worthless to me and you will be worthless to everyone else!" _

_Thrash! Thrash! Thrash!_

_"Before I send you back to the streets where worthless shit like you belong, I am going to send you as a warning to the other trash just exactly what love is!"_

Seto's eyes shot open as he snapped in a sit-up position. Sweat beads trickled down his wet shirt, and he closed his eyes to the burning pain on his back. It had been ten years. The scars had never healed. And they always seemed to burn whenever he thought about the incident. But an incident as traumatic as that is something that time does not so easily fade. 

He ran his fingers through his moisture-drenched bangs. Barely three years had passed since the incident before he fell for another illusion. Yes, he had been drawn to Serenity's innocence and integrity. Unlike her clueless brother, rarely had she spoken unless she had something worth saying. She was quiet, but out of shyness and respect, not because she was a recluse like himself. At first he had been suspicious of her quietness, but given that she had done nothing to confirm his suspicions, he placed them aside. And after kissing her thanks to Malik's dare, he knew he had to have her. 

The Rod glowed brighter but Seto took no notice. 

"Please don't tell."

An illusion. Serenity had been nothing more than an illusion. Just like Gozaburo. Serenity was ashamed of being with Seto, proving what a malicious little vixen she really was. Well, he was not going to be abandoned! Not this time!

Kaiba looked down in his hands. The Rod was vibrant now, its eerie ancient glow illuminating the bedroom in gold. His bangs parted as a golden eye seemed to appear on his forehead. Oh, yes, she was going to pay. One way or another, Serenity was going to pay. 

~*~

"Oh, come on, Yugi, it's not like I'm going to go nuts with it like that psychopath, I just want to know how they work." 

The unexpected visit from Seto Kaiba, not to mention the even more unexpected interest he had in the Shennen Items, was a bit scary in Yugi's eyes. Yami, watching from the mind-link, narrowed his crimson eyes. He knew that look all too well. His cousin's azure orbs carried that same glint 3,000 years ago. Yup, Kaiba was up to something. 

::Yugi, I don't think we should tell him about how to activate the Shennen Items. I don't like that look in his eyes. He's up to no good, Yugi.:: 

_::Yami, no offense, but you need to learn how to trust people more.:: _

_::And you need to learn how to listen to people more.:: _

"Well, seeing since I am the original holder of the Shennen Rod," Seto reasoned, "don't you think it should be fair that I know how to use it?" He leaned his elbows against the counter, staring intently at the smaller boy. Granted, at 21, Yugi had indeed grown some. At least he was as tall as Tea now, but that included the hair. Secretly, Kaiba began to wonder it that hair was natural. No way could someone be spending 100 bucks a year solely on hair dye. 

"Well, it really isn't that complicated, Kaiba," Yugi finally replied. 

Kaiba's eyes narrowed, but his ability to control his emotions kept him from losing his temper. _What, don't think I have the capability to figure out my own Shennen Item!? We'll see about that, Yugi!_

_::Yugi,:: _Yami pleaded, _::this is not a good idea.:: _

_::What can Kaiba do with the Rod? It's not like he wants the world.:: _

_::But I know my cousin! Trust me, Yugi, Kaiba is up to no good.:: _

::Yami…I think you're making a big deal out of this. If Kaiba is your family, why don't you let him get what he deserves?:: 

_::What he deserves is a good kick in the pants,:: _Yami grumbled. _::And I'm not talking about his butt, either.::_

_::YAMI!::_

Deciding to put Yami on ignore, Yugi turned back to Kaiba. "Okay, Kaiba, I'll tell you. It's hard to think of at first, but once you figure it out its really simple. When I first owned the Shennen Puzzle, I had no idea it possessed powers." 

_Oh, great, story time, _Kaiba groaned mentally. 

"But then weird things started happening to me," Yugi continued. "It seemed as if the Puzzle was activating by itself. But when I sat back and thought about it, I realized that it was not the Puzzle but _myself _who was activating its powers. The Puzzle senses when I am extremely passionate about something and it reacts to it, whether it be good or bad." 

"So you're saying that it reacts to strong emotions?" 

"Kinda. If you want to accomplish something with your Shennen Item, you have to be extremely passionate about it. You have to pour your entire heart into your goal." 

Kaiba nodded. Certainly explained why the Rod didn't work at first, and suddenly blazed without warning when he was traveling down memory lane. The Rod must have reacted to his inner suffering. Well, this didn't sound too hard. He only had to exert his emotions to make the Rod do his bidding. 

_::This is a mistake,::_ Yami groaned. Sure, Yugi could be right, and Kaiba only wanted the facts to sedate his curiosity, but the Pharaoh still couldn't shake away the heavy feeling of dread creeping up his stomach. 

~*~

After telling Mokuba almost the whole story, except the part about that wild night with his brother, Serenity managed to give him a condensed version of the story, how she and Kaiba had a secret relationship going on, she ended up giving him more than what she could handle, and broke up with him. 

"Did you sleep with him?" came the next question. 

Instantly, Serenity shook her head. That was a secret she did not want to share with anyone. Seven years she had held it, and she was not going to let it go now. She was ashamed of her actions, her weakness, how she had given in to him without so much as a fight. 

Just like a bitch in heat.

They have been cruising around town in Mokuba's black Viper for about thirty minutes now, and looking at her from the corner of his ever-observant blood-violet eyes, Mokuba understood that there was far more to this story than Serenity was letting on. There was pain behind those amber orbs, but he wasn't going to press her for details. He could ask Seto what happened, but he doubted his brother would say a word about the matter. More than likely, he'll probably pretend it…whatever "it" was…didn't even exist. 

"Hey, Serenity," he spoke up after five minutes of musing silence.

"Yes?" 

Pulling to a stop by the cause of a red light, Mokuba smiled at her. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? You look really tired, and besides, I can handle things fine back at work." 

"Mokuba, I'll be fine," Serenity began to protest, but Mokuba was shaking his head. 

"I insist. My brother's entrance no doubt shook you up pretty bad. And I have to leave early because I have a date with Rebecca tonight." She couldn't help but grin at the tiny adorable blush that appeared across his nose. Yup, he was going to be gone for a while. 

Finally, she nodded her consent, and five minutes later, Mokuba dropped her off at her apartment complex. "Thanks, Mokuba, I think I can take it from here," she declared. 

"You sure, now?" 

"Positive." 

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at 9:00 sharp." 

She could not resist a grin coming to her face. "Yes, sir." He waved to her as he drove off, and she waved back. It was little wonder why Rebecca loved him so much. Through all the years Serenity had known him, Mokuba had grown up to be a fine young gentleman. So much unlike his older, malicious brother. 

Silently she dusted off the invisible wrinkles in her skirt. She must learn to direct her thoughts away from that road. Here or not, Seto—_Kaiba_—meant nothing to her anymore. She was married to Malik; Kaiba nothing more than a vague memory, a dead leaf blowing away in a cold, autumn wind. She had to learn to treat him as such. 

~*~

"Hey, sleepy-head, wake up." 

Serenity turned in her sleep onto her back, staring up into adoring amethyst eyes. "Usually, I'm the one who comes home first and you come just in time for dinner," Malik announced. "But now you're home before I am. What gives?" 

"Mokuba gave me the rest of the day off," she explained. "I sort of had a run-in with Seto Kaiba this afternoon." 

"Really? He's back? What happened? Why did you two have a run-in?" He sat at the edge of the bed, waiting patiently for her explanation. 

She sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. "We just had an argument. Apparently, he expected something more from the kiss he and I had on Battle Ship." 

Malik's brows rose. "But that was seven years ago!" 

"He's pretty persistent." She wanted to shoot herself. She couldn't believe she had told such a lie to Malik. It had been completely visa versa. _She _had wanted the relationship, and _Kaiba _had been the one who ignored her. 

"He realizes you are married to me now, right?" 

"Of course. He didn't come to the wedding, but I set him straight. He seemed pretty ticked, but he dropped it. I don't think he's going to be bothering me anymore." 

Malik smiled with relief. "Good." As he rose to go to the bathroom, Serenity released the breath she had been holding. Why couldn't she just tell him the truth? It was seven years ago, before she and Malik hooked up, why shouldn't he understand? _Malik, Kaiba and I slept together seven years ago, and now Kaiba has come back to make something more of it. I told him 'no' and he got pissed off and he left. _There. That sounded simple enough. So why couldn't she do it? 

Suddenly, a brush of fingers flitted across her cheek. She gasped silently, looking around but seeing no one there. The fingers quickly returned, caressing her neck and lowering to run over her hardened nipples. But there was no one there! _No, this isn't happening. _

Lips pressed themselves ever so softly and tenderly against hers as the invisible hands ran themselves all over her body, despite her layers of clothing. The tender kiss moved to her ear as if an unseen someone was gently trying to make love to her. She squirmed, shivering with ecstasy. 

A memory flashed in her mind, a seven-year-old memory that played over and over in her mind over the years, but now she could see it as if it were happening right in front of her. She could see Seto's beautiful ivory body in its splendid form as he made love to her with tenderness and passion she had no idea a person could possess. Then she could hear his voice, whispering softly in her ear. _::Remember, Serenity. You can't forget me. You can never forget me. I won't allow you to just abandon me.::_

Then it was all gone. Everything. The image. The invisible fingers. The tender kiss. Gone, gone, gone. 

The bathroom door opened and Malik stood against the doorway, looking at her hungrily. "Have I ever told you that I am so lucky to have the most beautiful wife in the world?" he whispered. She bit her lower lip, forcing herself to smiling as he crawled onto the bed next to her. He took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers together. "Soon you and I will be able to start a family, I'm sure," he whispered. "Three boys and two girls. How 'bout it?"

"Malik," Serenity whispered. She hated this. Her heart ached. Malik was so good to her. Why shouldn't that be enough to forget someone as black-hearted as Kaiba? 

A pair of fingers pressed against her lips. "Don't speak," Malik whispered. "It makes me want you too much." 

The couple started kissing until she pushed him away enough to talk. "What about dinner, honey?" 

"Later," he answered breathlessly. "I am hungry only for you, beloved." He returned to kissing her, and she gave in. Clothes soon found themselves abandoned on the floor. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't help but imagine it was really Seto making love to her. 

~*~

Kaiba sank to the floor, holding his head, gasping for breath as the Rod clanged against the floor. Damn, but using the Shennen Rod could take out a lot on someone. After intense practicing, and finally having made a wild squirrel do a disco-type dance outside for about three minutes before he felt like his head was going to explode, a few hours Kaiba tried for Serenity. He didn't have long. She was across town and he didn't know if he would be able to take the power surge. It had been fun mind touching her even if he couldn't feel anything. At least she felt his touch, and no doubt freaked her out. But given her distance, Seto did not have long to do much, and right before he felt like his temples were going to burst, managed to whisper his warning in her ear: 

Remember, Serenity. You can't forget me. You can never forget me. I won't allow you to just abandon me. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

No footnotes today. 

So, what did you all think? Good? Bad? More? By the way, should I go into more detail about the sexy stuff? I got in trouble once with a Rurouni Kenshin story so I don't know if I should risk it. But if enough people want me to, I will. 


	4. My Last Breath

Due to the huge amounts of good reviews I have received, it took faster than I thought to whip out chapter three of Secret Fantasy. Evanescence will do that. In fact there are a lot of songs by that wonderful band that contribute to this story's plot. *dun dun dun* 

~*~WARNING~*~ 

(don't ya just looove those?)

There's sorta…uh…a bit of unintentional masturbation going to occur later on the chapter. *laughs sheepishly* Unintentional because Kaiba isn't really aware he is doing it until too late. Yes, I said Kaiba. Who did ya think it was going to be? XD Anyway, again I say unintentional because Kaiba doesn't strike me as the kind of pervert who masturbates on a whim. 

Also there is a bit of action going on between Mokuba and Rebecca at the end of the chapter. Apparently a lot more MokubaxRebecca than I first intended is occurring. I really like that coupling. It's a fun couple to work with. Just remember that Rebecca is sixteen and Mokuba is eighteen, because I think in the anime, he is two years or so older than her, but I'm not really sure. I made Rebecca's personality sort of like reserved and mature for her age, and of course, still a bitch. Mokuba…well, there really isn't anything special about Mokuba other than he is your average horny guy. XD

PS-Yes, the lyrics are being sung by Rebecca because she's in a band, even though the song is by Evanescence. 

Disclaimer:  I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! and if I owned Evanescence, the band would sound not even 1/3 as good as it does now. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Chapter Three**

**My Last Breath**

~*~

_Hold on to me, love_

_You know I can't stay long_

_All I wanted was to say I love you and I'm not afraid_

_Can you hear me?_

_Can you feel me in your arms? _

Serenity did not tell Malik the invisible force touching her as he busied himself with dinner fifteen minutes after their recent joining. It was crazy. Invisible people just don't appear out of nowhere and start touching you. That was just not physically, or mentally for that matter, possible. At first she thought that maybe it was Malik playing with her, but how could he? He no longer possessed the Shennen Rod. It had been returned to its original holder, Seto Kaiba. 

Wait. 

She paused in her musings, listening to her intake of breath as the revelation sank down into her. That bastard! Quickly, she pulled the quilt tighter around her naked body as if he might try something like that again. Of course, who else could it be? Just because Kaiba claimed seven years ago that he had no idea how to use the Shennen Rod, did not mean he had not been practicing during his absence. Serenity had not been too thick-headed to see the powers of the Shennen Items, including the mind dominating powers of the Rod. She should've known he would have pulled something like this, that square-assed computer geek with enough frost in his soul to make Pluto look like a tropical haven. 

But then again, what was Kaiba going to do the Rod, make wild squirrels disco-dance to the BeeGees or something? Kaiba was the type of person who liked to do things the hard way no matter how easy the other path looked. 

Okay, getting off of that train of thought. 

Growling to herself, Serenity forced her legs to carry her to the bathroom so she could shower. Without really thinking about it, she locked the bathroom door. Right, like that was going to save her from the Shennen Rod that worked inside her mind, but there was something about locks that made any self-respecting female feel safer. However, she stood in front of the shower for a full five minutes. Damn, she was going to be paranoid for the rest of her life thanks to that jackass CEO and his mind-craving pleasures! What if he was watching her right now? Now there was a creepy thought. 

_Well, let him masturbate over it, you have more important things to do! _the Wheeler within her snapped, thoroughly disgusted with her childish behavior. With this thought in mind, and trying to not think about how erotic the mental image of Seto masturbating was, Serenity flicked on the faucet as hot as her body could take without burning to a crisp and stepped into the shower. 

She raised her arms in ecstasy, rubbing the shampoo in her hair, dwelling with the pleasant image of Malik caressing the formula into her hair. But suddenly the water ran over the image and soon it was replaced with Seto, whispering softly into her ear, as he held her close, hands sliding down her hair, lowering to her face, lowering to her neck, her shoulders, lowering to...

DAMN IT!!!  
  


Serenity lowered her arms and stomped her foot in anger and frustration, blaming Kaiba for all this hell she was going through, blaming him for causing her to mentally cheat on Malik. The stomp resulted in her nearly slipping in the tub and she had to grab the rag railing on the wall to keep her balance. She blamed Kaiba for that, too.

Okay, that was it. No more Miss Nice Wheeler! The next time Serenity saw Kaiba, that prick will regret having ever laid eyes on her. 

_Holding my last breath_

_Safe inside myself_

_Are all my thoughts of you_

_Sweet raptured light_

_It ends here tonight_

Kaiba regretted having ever laid eyes on Serenity. Seriously. It was because of her, he was going through this torment. He retired sometime about seven that evening to bed, shortly after his mental encounter with Serenity. With a migraine the size of Mount Fuji, he took three aspirins and crawled into bed hoping to sleep away the pounding pain that occurred every time his temples pulsed. 

His wet dream about Serenity had not made matters any better. 

He woke up an hour later with a saliva-soaked corner of blanket in his mouth, mummified in the rest of the blanket, and his pants and the sheets completely soaked with semen. _Shit, shit, shit! _Looks like he was going to have to do laundry again, lest the maid inquired about the drenched bed decorations, to which there could only be two options and both were too humiliating for his pride to withstand. He had either wet the bed the 3-year-old or the 23-year-old way, both options about as bad as being stuck between a rock and hard place, take your pick. 

Well, blankets would have to wait. Kaiba stomped to the adjoining bathroom and stripped his body of his dress shirt and sticky pants. Damn, another pair of black leather ruined. Oh, well, that will teach him to sleep in his best pants next time. He flicked on the ice-cold water and stepped under the shower head, leaning against the wall as the fall of glacier drops cooled his heated skin. 

_I'll miss the winter_

_A world of fragile things_

_Look for me in the white forest_

_Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)_

_I know you hear me_

_I can taste it in your tears_

_Serenity..._

His hand, as if having developed a mind of its own, began traveling south. He did not take notice as his thoughts turned to Serenity. 

Did he love her? It was hard to say. He lusted after her, that was for sure, with more passion than had driven through his heart when he was after something, be it a skimpy failing business or Duel Monsters. His fingers slid over his reawakened manhood, beginning to pump ever so slowly. He felt a new sensation of pleasure seeping through him, but his mind was too filled with confusing thoughts to figure out what primitive ritual his hand was performing. 

_Holding my last breath_

_Safe inside myself_

_Are all my thoughts of you_

_Sweet raptured light_

_It ends here tonight_

Kaiba did admit that he needed her. Though he hated to be dependent on anything, sometimes not even himself, Serenity had been the first person he had ever met who did not judge him solely because he was Seto Kaiba. She had given him a chance to prove himself to her. He remembered her desire-filled eyes and warm embrace, looking up at him with want for him, with need, for him and him alone. Her soft touch, the way she whispered his name, all for him. There was no way she could disguise that desire. She wanted him, not his money, his name, his title, but _him. _

His hand pumped himself faster as the raging Kaiba passion began to stir within him once again. 

_So why the hell did she deny me!? _his mind cried. Why had she been so ashamed of being with him? Why did she try to abandon him? 

He gasped as continued humping his hand, the image of Serenity flashing before him, her body beckoning to his. His chest heaved as he could feel her touching him, caressing him. "Love me, Serenity," he whispered into the air, humping faster and faster, body screaming for release. "Love me forever. Don't leave me again." 

Kaiba released a small cry as he came into his hand. His eyes turned downward, the fantasy shattered, realizing it had been nothing more than himself masturbating like a perverted adolescent. Disgusted with himself, he wasted no time scrubbing the cum off his hand, turning off the shower, and stomping out the bathroom, indigo towel wrapped loosely around his shivering body. Well, he was cold, now. He'll give himself that much. 

_Closing your eyes to disappear_

_You pray your dreams will leave you here_

_But still you wake and know the truth_

_No one's there_

Mokuba could not keep his childish grin from forming on his face as he pulled his black Viper into the driveway of the Hawking's residence. Ah, he could hear the thundering beat of bass and drums. He closed the car door and approached the opened garage as the high-school rock band he managed, Crimson Rapture, practiced for a gig which was to take place this Saturday. He leaned against the doorway as he watched Rebecca, the lead singer and guitarist sweep the rest of the band into the climax of the song. 

_Say goodnight_

_Don't be afraid_

_Calling me calling me as you fade into black_

The other members, Jessica on keyboards, Roscoe on bass, and Steve on the drums, joined her for the last chorus. 

_(Say goodnight)_

_Holding my last breath_

_(Don't be afraid)_

_Safe inside myself_

_(Calling me calling me as you fade into black)_

_Are all my thoughts on you_

_Sweet raptured light_

_It ends here tonight_

Mokuba applauded as the last note faded into silence, nearly making Rebecca jump and the other members smile with welcome. "That was beautiful, Rebecca, just like you," he cheered. "However your melancholy love songs are starting to worry me." 

"Don't flatter yourself," Rebecca shot back playfully. "Jessica writes most of them." 

"Ex-boyfriends are good for something after all," Jessica added, beaming with pride. 

"That makes me feel better," Mokuba replied. "Now may I please have a moment with my girlfriend?"

The members exchanged sly glances with each other, much to Rebecca's embarrassment, and filed out of the garage. Before Rebecca could inquire why Mokuba had up and suddenly kicked the band out of the garage, though granted practice would be over in two minutes anyway, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her past the kitchen and into the living room. Next thing she knew, she was lying flat on her back on the couch, with her boyfriend on top of her, devouring her neck. 

"Mokuba!" she gasped, breath catching in her throat as his hands traveled down to her thighs and back up again. 

He shushed her by placing his lips tenderly against hers, tongue seeking the warmth of her mouth in a gentle invasion. "Don't speak," he whispered in between kisses. "Let me make love to you." 

"NOW!?" Rebecca squeaked. "Right here? In the living room?"

"Why not? Isn't it a tradition to make love in every room of the house?" 

"That's only when you are married," she snapped. She looked up then, emerald eyes searching blood-indigo, hoping that maybe that thought had sunk into his head. 

Mokuba was your typical guy. Of course it didn't. 

He kissed her long and deeply, and for a static moment, she sank deeply into the kiss, falling in love with him all over again. "Mokuba," she breathed when they parted for air. 

"I want you now, Rebecca. It's been a month." 

"Good. You need to practice abstinence if you don't want to get yourself hurt. Besides wasn't that blowjob I gave you in your office earlier today enough?" 

"No," he groaned softly, tongue rolling across her ear, raising goosebumps along her skin. She squirmed beneath him, running her fingers through his long raven ponytail as he sucked on her earlobe. He quickly unbuttoned her blouse, and she gasped softly when his hand cupped a breast underneath her bra. 

"Mokuba! We gotta...we gotta stop this...my grandfather..." 

Before she could inform him that considering it was already eight o'clock, her grandfather might arrive home at any minute, the phone rang. Mokuba didn't seem to hear it, at least _pretended _he didn't hear it, and so, helplessly, Rebecca fumbled blindly for the cordless. On the fifth ring, her hand found it and she had to make an effort to put the phone to the ear beside the couch back considering the other one was being busy at the moment. 

"Quit trying to chew my ear off, I still need it!" she snapped. "And, in case you didn't notice, I'm on the phone!" 

Rebecca tried with everything she had to turn her attention to the phone. "Hello?" she answered. 

_"Hello, Rebecca. How are things? Good I hope?"_

"Hey, grandpa!" Rebecca greeted with more cheer than she intended thanks to current circumstances. "Everything's just fine here!" 

She heard Mokuba chuckle softly before his lips returned to her neck. She squirmed as his hand toyed with her nipple. She could kill him, she could just _kill _him!!! 

_"How's that young man of yours doing?" _

"Who, Mokuba? Oh, he's doing just great." He's still alive, how much more wonderful could that get? At the mention of his name, Mokuba looked up at Rebecca and a huge smirk appeared on his face. Instantly, Rebecca paled. The Kaiba smirk. Nothing good ever came out of that smirk. She narrowed her eyes, expression telling him that if he tried anything he was going to get it. That only made him smirk more, and then he began licking her stomach. 

Rebecca's eyes widened as her stomach tightened with the feeling of his tongue against her navel. Every instinct was telling her to give him a good swift kick in the balls, but her heart, damn it for all that little shit was worth, kept her from doing so, saying that she could not bear his children if she damaged the family jewels for life. 

"I'm sorry, Grandpa. I didn't catch that. What did you say?" 

_"Rebecca, are you okay? You sound breathless." _

Indeed, she was gasping softly at Mokuba's assault. Screw her heart. He was gonna die. 

"Yes, Grandpa, I just came back from...jogging." A loud snort erupted from Mokuba as he buried his face in her torso to keep from laughing out loud. He knew he was going to be in big trouble once Rebecca hung up the phone. Of course, that was the sole reason why he incessantly aggravated her in the first place. Domination was fun. Bondage was funner. 

"Huh? Did you say you're not coming home tonight?" 

Even Mokuba had to look up in surprise at the sound of that. 

_"Yes. Some extremely interesting artifacts from Egypt had arrived, so Solomon and I are staying at the museum tonight to analyze them.  You'll be fine by yourself tonight, won't you?" _

"Um...yeah, don't worry about!" Rebecca responded. Hee hee hee, now she could have her revenge on this embarrassment. "Hey, Grandpa, I gotta go. I think my dinner is burning in the oven." Again, Mokuba had to subjugate his laughter. 

_"All right, dear. I'll see you tomorrow morning. I love you." _

"I love you, too." She hung up the cordless and nearly threw it off the couch. Mokuba returned to her face, staring down in her eyes. 

"Well? I guess this means we have the entire night to ourselves?" he inquired. 

"Idiot," she replied affectionately, then grabbed his head to kiss him fiercely. He returned that kiss just as hungrily as she tried to rip his clothes off. A loud thud was heard. Turned out the two had rolled off the couch, but they were too involved with each other to care. 

~*~

Though the meal was delicious as always, Serenity found herself unable to do anything more than pick at it. She felt guilty. After all, Malik constantly slaved over dinner considering she couldn't cook, and here she was acting ungrateful. Malik, who had already made half of his meal disappear, looked at her in concern. "Don't you like it?" 

She smiled. "It's not that," she replied softly, her steak barely recognizable now thanks to the fork's consistent poking. 

"Are you not feeling well?" he pressed, lilac eyes now truly concerned. 

There, that was it. She simply was not feeling well. "I admit I'm not really up to par at the moment," she confessed. "It must be something I ate earlier today. I sorta fixed myself some lunch this afternoon." It was true. She had made herself a can of soup and somehow managed to screw that up considerably. How was unknown. It couldn't be Wheeler blood because Joey could be a chef if he wanted. 

"It's truly a wonderful meal, Malik," she continued, the ever growing amount of guilt still rising within her. Would she ever make it go away? "I'm just not hungry. I think I'll feel better if I lay down for a moment." 

He reached over to caress her chin, those amethyst eyes never judging her, questioning her, never suspecting...

"Sure. You do that. Just call me if you need anything, okay?" 

She nodded and entered the dark bedroom, closed the door behind her, and fell against the cold covers. Tears stung her eyes as she thought of Malik. He was so damn good to her, how could she be treating him like this!? 

It's all Kaiba's fault! If only he would leave her alone!

But it wasn't, and deep, deep down she knew that. She had been the one fantasizing about him for the past seven fucking years. It was only one night! No way could Kaiba could be so damn good that even one night with him surpassed the many nights she had with Malik. There was just no way. 

_I was your first, and you were my first, shouldn't that mean something? _

Okay, she admitted it. Kaiba took her virginity and that had been something extremely special to her. She didn't give into Kaiba's touch that night simply because the guy knew exactly how to use his tongue with the expertise of a professional. She had developed a huge crush on him during Battle City. And why not? Kaiba was everything she wanted to be: independent, strong, brave, and any synonym dealing with those aspects. And not to mention that Kaiba was the only person she had met who did not see her as some helpless individual that couldn't think for herself. She had revealed this to him that night to which she remembered his response well: 

_Everyone has the ability to be independent. You just have to find the strength to admit it. _

Unlike everyone else, who just simply smiled, eyes saying, _Yeah, right. Your role in life is nothing more than the damsel in distress, always has been and always will be. You might as well accept it. _

_"That's not true, Serenity,"_ came a soft-spoken voice. 

She jumped, startled. No one there. But now she knew what was going on. 

_I know that's you, Kaiba. What the hell are you doing in my private thoughts!?!_

_"It's not my fault I walked in on you having a conversation with yourself."_

_That's no excuse! If you think you're going to try and take over my mind with that Shennen Rod of yours, then you are even more of a heartless prick than I first thought. _

_"I don't plan on using the Shennen Rod to force you back to me," _came the reply._ "I know you will come back to me willingly." _

_Think again, bastard! I am not one of your lackeys who suck your balls on your command._

"Touche, my love. But I don't think that either. I've been sitting in your mind for a bit now. I know now that you haven't forgotten me." 

Serenity choked back a cry, utterly humiliated now, every ounce of pride within her shattered into unfixable shreds. Unable to hold back the tears, they slipped freely down her cheeks. 

_"Don't cry. I am in the same boat as you. I haven't been able to forget you, either. All the pleasurable company I've kept for the past five years have been nothing compared to you. Now that we know that we can't forget each other, come back to me, Serenity. Let's relive that night."_ A brush of wind fell against her lips and traveled around her neck, over a breast, and back up to her neck. She felt as if someone was holding her, and she found herself slowly giving into those invisible arms. 

"S-Seto," she breathed out loud. Then she quickly pulled back and buried her face in her hands. _Go away! _her mind screamed. _I hate you for what you're doing to me! Why can't you just leave me alone!? Can't you see that you are hurting me!?_

_"You're the one who is hurting yourself," _he replied angrily. _"And I see that you are too selfish to comprehend that you are making a mistake in believing you are the only one who has been hurt by this separation."  _

Her head snapped up. _Kaiba? _

But he had gone. 

~*~

Yes, I know. Disturbing to the latest. That is the whole point of this story. Did I put it on the angst category?? If I didn't, I may need to change that. This story is coming out to be a lot darker than I intended, and I like it!!! XD 


	5. Broken Blood

*grins sheepishly* Sorry guys for the long update. I was struggling to get this Mokuba/Rebecca story written for a contest. Unfortunately, I waited too long and ended up missing it. Oh, well. In other news, I finished the Sacred Cards. Yay! Tristan called me a "man". Boo! *grumbles* Sexist pigs….

Don't have much to say other than this chapter is a lot longer than my others. A little Seto/Serenity interaction here! ^.^ If you don't like heavy lime (explicent make-out scene but not necessarily sex) please leave. 

Disclaimer: Sorry, lost the lottery that decided who got to own Yu-Gi-Oh!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Chapter 4**

**Broken Blood**

~*~*~*~

Feeling dazed and day-dreamy, Rebecca awoke the next morning, stretching lightly. The sunbeams seemed to rain upon her face as they invaded from the window, indicating it was still a bright morning. She realized she was naked beneath the blankets, and her lips formed into a smile upon remembering the overwhelming bliss she had been swept into the night before. 

Mokuba was still fast asleep beside her, several strands of raven hair falling over his face, full lips slightly open as he slept on his side. She could see his bare chest rising and falling lightly with each breath he took. She snuggled next to him, delighted that he was still as naked as she. He sighed in sleep, and Rebecca cradled him in her arms, careful to be absolutely still so his dreams wouldn't be disturbed. Not that she really needed to worry about waking him up. Mokuba didn't sleep; he fell into a coma. 

Rebecca sighed as she slipped into daydreams, thinking of how wonderful it would be to wake up like this every morning for the rest of her life. She kissed Mokuba's forehead, breathing in his scent, shivering from the memory of being joined with him. How many children would they have? Though she was good with kids, realistically, maybe they'll have three or four, but Rebecca wanted many with Mokuba. Perhaps it was only natural that a girl would want to have dozens and dozens of children with the man she loved, though after the first pregnancy, she finds herself saying "Never again!" 

In the midst of her mind fantasies of her future with Mokuba, Rebecca happened to glance at her hands, instantly snapping into reality. Her fingers were empty; naturally, because Mokuba hadn't even proposed yet. Her emerald eyes went sad. It was wrong, she knew. She had been raised to wait until after marriage before giving up her virginity. And she understood now why those goody-two-shoes at school were so insistent upon it. She was emotionally and physically bond to Mokuba. Symbolic and quite literally, they were now a part of each other, forever and forever. That ring was the symbol of that bond, the promise to never let go. 

Was she afraid he would leave her? 

Yes. Deep down, she was really afraid. 

***

It was a mistake coming here. She knew that the moment she stood in the front of the colossal iron gate, staring up at the huge ivory edifice known as the Kaiba Mansion. It took a long moment of uncertainty before Serenity chided herself for acting like a nervous school-girl and pressed the intercom button on the wall by the gate. Besides, Kaiba probably wasn't here anyway, and if he was, probably asleep seeing since it was only 9:30 that morning. Though it was Serenity's day off, and normally she slept until well past noon, she woke up soon after Malik left for work, realizing she couldn't go back to sleep. Her encounter with Kaiba last night kept playing over and over in her mind. She needed to confront him face-to-face and put an end to these childish games once and for all. 

Upon receiving no answer, Serenity pressed the intercom again. Both relief and frustration flooded through her. As much as she would love to avoid Kaiba whenever possible, if she didn't talk to him NOW, he'll just keep mentally harassing her. Damn Yami for giving him that Rod in the first place! Of all people, the ancient pharaoh should've known Kaiba would've pulled a stunt like this! Aside from Mokuba and Serenity herself, Yugi was the only one who knew Kaiba the most. 

She sighed. Looks like Kaiba wasn't going to give her an answer anytime soon. _No matter, _she thought as she shoved the sudden sense of disappointment back down to her subconscious. She'll just have to find a way to ignore Kaiba. Perhaps the next time he tried to mind communicate with her, she could slip on a pair of headphones, turn on really loud music, and blast him out of her mind. Sure, it might make her deaf in the process, but given the circumstances, she would count that as a blessing. 

But when she turned to head back home, there was a loud beep and the gate parted in half, both sides swinging open to allow her passage. Deciding she had come too far to back out now, Serenity entered, the gate-halves swinging shut as soon as she was completely inside. She took a deep breath, throwing her shoulders back and swinging her ponytail back in confidence, and began her long hike to the front door. She didn't understand what need a person could possibly have to live in a house that could be room enough for a hundred people other than a simple show of power and wealth. She growled to herself as she climbed up ten steps to simply reach the front porch. Perhaps the world economy wouldn't be in such bad shape if the wealthy took up only the space they needed. Really, how much room could a teenager and his older brother possibly be in dire need of??

Feeling slightly winded, the door opened once Serenity approached it. She was greeted by a straight-backed middle-aged man who looked like a Kaiba Corp. guard, but was actually the butler. "Master Kaiba will see you in his office on the third floor," the servant announced tonelessly. She raised a brow as she entered. _Master Kaiba? How pathetically tasteless. Even Mokuba settled for just plain "mister" or "sir". But master? Considering Kaiba's increasingly abusive displays of power, she wondered what in the nine hells ever made her fall for the guy. _

Fall? Whoa, did she just think that? 

Okay, _attract. _That was far more accurate and a lot less dangerous sounding. 

Looking upon the moderness of the mansion and the vast wealth that had poured into it, Serenity was actually surprised that there were no elevators here; even an escalator should have been expected. Instead she was forced to climb three flights of stairs to Kaiba's office. The ironic normality of it all in such a technology-infested place seemed to mock her with each step she took. Now she was really was winded as she finally reached her desired landing, though the stairs continued for another two flights. She looked around and realized just how much of a labyrinth just the third floor itself was, and she wished the butler had at least given her a map so she could figure out where the hell she was going. Shit, how was she supposed to get out of here!? 

Not that a quick escape would be necessary, but knowing Kaiba, it was safest to have one. 

For about ten minutes, Serenity meandered through the halls of the third floor before she finally gave up. She was lost, and now she couldn't even find the stupid stairs. And the mansion's navigation looked so simple from the outside, too! Her ever idealistic mind began to take the mansion in a philosophical sense, that it was so complicated because it symbolized Kaiba. He seemed to easy to figure out, yet the deeper one dove into him, the more complicated he became. 

She laughed to herself. Now, that was just messed up. Even after all these years, she was still thinking like a radical, seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, believing there was good in everyone. Kaiba was not complicated. He was an asshole, a perverted asshole plain and simple. There was nothing complex about him. 

"Lost?" came a voice. 

Serenity blinked as she was jerked out of her private thoughts, looking up into the face of one of the guards who worked for Kaiba. She recognized him as Roland, the guard that worked on the Battle Ship six years ago. She nodded, feeling foolish, blushing softly with embarrassment.

He did not smile but there was still a calm expression on his face, perhaps out of his employment or maybe he was polite like that, and replied, "May I inquire as to where you are heading?" 

"To see Mr. Kaiba." 

"Are you here on business?" 

"I am his brother's secretary."

Roland nodded and proceeded to walk down the hall. Having nothing else better to do, Serenity followed. Two lefts, a right, and a sharp left later, he led her to a vast pair of mahogany doors. "That would be Mr. Kaiba's bedroom, though he prefers that we call it his 'office'," Roland announced. 

"Thank you," she replied as she watched him walk away. He turned his head, eyes inquiring as though he had never been thanked before, and continued on his way. 

After a few seconds of trying to gather her wits about her, Serenity knocked softly on the door. "Kaiba?" she called. 

No answer. Like she expected him to. So, the only thing she could do was try again. "Kaiba, I know you and I didn't get off to a really good start," she continued. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, and wondered if we could put this behind us." 

Again, no answer. 

Serenity was starting to get frustrated. She figured the best way to end this was by using the friendly approach, a concept Kaiba would probably never fully grasp, but it was a lot less stressful. She had even worked herself up into this good mood by drinking Starbucks cappuccino, listening to her favorite music, doing her nails, taking a scalding hot shower, lots of things to make herself feel better. And chocolate. She had just finished a Hershey bar on the train on her way here. 

But Kaiba had a knack of making all of that in vain. She couldn't decide which was worse, his dominating rudeness or his stubborn silence. Growling in her throat, she began banging on the door, nearly yelling, "Kaiba, give me a break will you!? I came here to apologize, and that's not good enough for you!?! Open this door or I swear I will burst in and kick your skinny ass!" 

She couldn't believe it but once again, Kaiba made no answer. Oh, that bastard! She'll kill him! In her frustration, she grabbed the door handle and jerked it open. To her surprise, the door gave way and she wanted to bang her head against the wall. 

Kaiba wasn't even in the room. 

Though the room was quite spacious, the four-poster bed about as large as her own apartment room, that bed, a desk, and a tall dresser were the only occupants. Unlike the rest of the house, when it came to personal purchases, apparently Kaiba was not one to lavish upon himself. She was about to leave, when she heard the sound of water running from a shower-head. It was then she noticed the door to the adjoining bathroom. Ah, so that's where he was.

Serenity approached the bathroom door and knocked. Best to make her presence known now. Seeing since this was his bedroom, for all she knew, he would prance out in the nude once he was done. Not that she would mind...wait, yes she most certainly would!...would she??

"Kaiba, it's me, Serenity!" she called. "I know this is rather embarrassing, but I just wanted to let you know that I was...out...here..." She trailed off as another sound met her ears. Moaning? She flushed at the instant naughty thought that popped in her mind while contemplating why Kaiba would be moaning. 

But then another moan was made, a little louder this time, and Serenity realized her mistake. That wasn't the moan of a guy getting it on with his hand or anything like that. It sounded as if Kaiba was in...pain. "Kaiba!" she cried, banging on the door as loud as she could. "Kaiba, what's wrong!? Kaiba, answer me!! Seto!!"

All that replied was the soft moaning of someone undergoing extreme physical discomfort. Throwing all common sense to the winds, Serenity jerked the door open, and had to subjugate her scream at what was revealed. 

Blood. The entire floor closest to the showerhead was covered with crimson water seeping out of the small opening in the shower door. Through the distorted glass, she could see Kaiba's outline hunched over on the floor in the fetal position, hear his whimpers of agony. Alarmed, Serenity took a couple steps to help him but his soft voice stopped her:

"Serenity, get out of here." 

"But...you're hurt..." Her voice came out quieter than she thought it would have, but the shakiness of her tone betrayed her horror. 

He released a tiny, pain-filled laugh. "It's not as bad as it looks, kid. This has...happened before...many times. I know what I need to do. Please...wait for me outside." 

The fact that she had never heard Kaiba say "please" before for the whole time she had known him must've what made her leave the bathroom, otherwise she would've been determined to stay. Nervous and afraid for him, Serenity began to pace the room because there was nothing else she could do, and she was too overcome with anxiety to sit still. At last, Kaiba finally emerged from the bathroom. Serenity had to avert her eyes to keep from blushing, to keep from admitting to herself how gorgeous Seto looked, skin and hair glistening and dripping wet, wearing nothing but a meager white towel wrapped around his waist...or even better, how he would look should the towel "accidentally" fall. She fought desperately to ignore the bright blush on her cheeks and the infectious itch as her body begged for Seto's. Even so, should Kaiba try anything, Serenity's purse was armed with pepper spray. 

But Kaiba didn't look like he was even thinking about doing something offensive...for once. In fact, the pain never left his azure eyes. He stumbled, almost blindly, to the bed and fell onto his stomach, not caring that Serenity was in the room and he was as naked as the moment he was born under the towel. Serenity's hand flew to her mouth as she stared in horror. Deep gashes interlocked completely over Kaiba's back, nasty and bloody. Scars, they were, scars that refused to heal properly, scars that would crack and bleed at a moment's notice. 

"Serenity," Seto suddenly groaned. 

She was at his side in an instant. "Yes?"

"I have some peroxide in the medicine chest above the sink in the bathroom," Seto panted softly. "And the wash-rags are in a small basket next to the tub. Be sure to make sure the wash-rag is damp when you bring it back." 

Her compassion for him made her move quickly, finding the items she needed exactly where he had described them and returned. Seto was sitting up now, still not bothering to express modesty, but then again, in his agonizing state he probably didn't care. His breathing had steadied somewhat from that heavy, painful panting he was giving earlier. She settled behind him, then realized how awkward this would be. "I think it's best if you laid down," she pointed out. "I can't really that much peroxide on if you're sitting up." 

"That's the point for the wash cloth," Seto replied, voice shaking. "Pouring too much can make the infection worse." 

Pouring some peroxide onto the cloth, she gently placed it on the ugliest looking of the scars, yet Seto hissed through his teeth, returning to panting pitifully. "D-don't worry about me," he gasped. "J-j-just keep doing what I told you to do." 

She continued with her ugly duty, feeling guilty from the way Seto was gripping his sheets, his white knuckles revealing the state he was in. She also didn't like prying into his business, but she had to know: "How did your scars get infected?" 

He didn't respond. She expected as much. She almost forgot about her question, until he finally released a soft, bitter laugh. "I was twelve. Just twelve. Over ten years ago. So long ago, and yet it seems like a minute. I had failed one of my subjects during my formal education. My step-father, Gozubaro, home-schooled me all the way up to the eighth grade. But the tutors he hired were such a bore. If I didn't have my intelligence, I don't think I would've passed any of my subjects. But this one, it was just too hard for me. I received a big fat 'F' in my grade. Gozubaro was so pissed. A few nights later, he jerked me out of my bed and dragged me into his room. Turns out that night he had found out I was trying to take over the company. He shoved me onto his bed and proceeded to beat the shit out of me with a leather strap. I couldn't stop screaming, so he would beat me harder until I finally did. By that time, I was dizzy with blood loss and on the verge of unconsciousness. But he was not done. He then climbed onto the bed by me and began to--"

"STOP!" Serenity exclaimed, cutting him off as she struggled not to cry. "Don't say anymore, Seto. Please, don't say anymore! I shouldn't have brought it up." 

His blue eyes narrowed as he turned his head to look at her. "Then why did you?" 

"I'm sorry." 

He sighed deeply. "Well, to make a long story short, the wounds became infected because my beloved step-daddy refused to give me my antibiotics for it. So the scars never healed properly." He turned his body until he was completely facing her. "Does this sort of thing scare you? Or are you disappointed that I'm not as perfect or invincible as everyone else would like you to believe? Don't worry. You won't be the first. The scars are very ugly indeed. I'm surprised you haven't ran out of here yet, screaming your pretty head off." 

"Oh, Seto," she sobbed quietly, and before she could stop herself, gently touched his shoulders and nestled her cheek against his chest. He was so warm. How she missed that warmth. 

Seto's breath quickened, as her own was gently brushing upon his nipple. He could push her away, that would be the right and morale thing to do. Hey, since when was he ever morale!? Seto allowed his arms to wrap around her tightly, pulling her onto his lap. Desperate to maintain her grip on reality, she whispered, "What was that subject Gozubaro treated you so horribly because you kept doing poorly in it?" 

A long pause. Then he chuckled, almost in amusement. "Math. I hate all forms of it with a passion." 

Considering the amount of math one had to do in his type of career, Serenity's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're kidding!" 

"Nope." 

Trying to see if he was telling the truth, Serenity looked up at Seto, wondering if he was sincere. Big mistake.

Their lips brushed ever-so-softly against each other, a butterfly caress that caused them both to still, staring deeply into the other's eyes, amber stirring with sapphire as their gazes interwoven with mutual pain, regret, and want. 

Who was the one to make the first move was undecided as they both closed the gap between their mouths. Seto's tongue instantly sought for her warmth and she gave him passage. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she pulled him closer, flicking her tongue across his own and shivering with delight as he groaned. He gripped her hips and began to grind into her. Damn, but she had forgotten how hard and huge he could get, and she wanted more of it. He might as well be naked for all that towel was worth and for all she could feel. Her stomach tightened with pent-up emotions she had been hiding for the past seven years as their kiss grew hungrier. Seto continued to devastatingly ravish her mouth like a parched desert traveler on a long journey, raising a hand underneath her shirt, her bra, to toy with a breast with his palm. Serenity found herself panting with pleasure as his thumb and forefinger pinched the small nub, making it hard and red for him. 

Serenity pulled away, releasing a groan of loud protest from Seto. She smiled and lifted her shirt over her head, tossing it over the bed, soon followed by her bra. Heavy breathing having returned, this time for a different reason, he dipped her back a bit, allowing his gaze to drink in her bare tits that he had yearned to see for so long now, then closed his eyes to place a gentle kiss in between them. "I've missed these," he breathed, before claiming one in his mouth, teeth grazing the nipple teasingly. 

"Seto!" she groaned, gripping his cinnamon hair as he suckled with greedy, longing hunger. But she wasn't going to sit by and do nothing. Caught up in the moment, before she could talk herself out of it, she reached underneath the towel that hid him from her, and gently brushed her fingers against his hard length. She stroked the underside, teasing the tip, and in return, he sucked her breast harder, thrusting his hips into her hand. 

Quickly, his mouth returned to hers, their tongues instantly competing for domination. "I want you, Serenity," Seto gasped over and over. "I want you, I want you, I need you, I want--AAAH!!!" 

Instantly, Serenity leaped back as Seto fell forward, gasping desperately, sapphire eyes wide with agony. In the midst of her pleasure, Serenity had accidently allowed her hand to drift to his back, consequently touching the extremely sensitive wounds on his back. Seto bit his lower lip, blood welling beneath his teeth, as he struggled to keep from crying with the pain. 

"I'm so sorry, Seto. I wasn't...I didn't..." 

"Serenity..." he began softly. "You were right. You've been right all along. Please, just leave. Go home." 

At first she refused to budge. "Seto..." 

"I SAID TO GO THE FUCK AWAY!!!" 

Never had he used such a tone with her, and struggling to keep her own tears in check, she threw on her bra and shirt, grabbed her purse, and ran out of the door. She'll find her own way out somehow. Meanwhile, Seto allowed the pain to drive him to unconsciousness to which he sank into dreams of Serenity's embrace. 

***

Seto's scars healed within time. A few weeks passed, and they were back to normal. He was taking the antibiotics he was supposed to, but all the doctors at Kaiba Hospital insisted that it was probably too late, that the scars will never heal properly ever again. 

Humph! Bunch of quacks. 

It was during that time, Seto noticed his little brother, who was no longer all that little, was acting more quiet and depressed than usual. When he was not at work, Mokuba stayed at home, moping about like some dead spirit bond to the mansion for eternity. Usually, Mokuba had the fridge cleared within a week. Two had passed, and most of the food was still intact. 

Unable to take anymore, because TWO Kaibas sulking around their lair was just unacceptable, Seto resolved to consult Mokuba. He found the younger Kaiba slunked (the only word Kaiba knew how to describe the position) in a leather couch in the living room, staring at a blank TV as if the most profound movie was playing on the wall-sized screen. "What's up with you?" Seto demanded gently sitting beside his brother. 

Mokuba sighed. "Seto, what all happened between you and Serenity?" 

The question caught him so off-guard that Seto forgot his own. "What do you mean?" 

"I know something happened between you two on Battle Ship besides that kiss Malik dared you two to do. And it must be something drastic, because Serenity has been a wreck ever since you came back from the States." 

Seto narrowed his eyes. "So what all did she say about her and me?" 

"So far that you two kissed, you expected more, and so she left." Mokuba stared deeply at Seto. "But I know better. She told me that all you two did was that simple kiss, but you completed the dare, didn't you? You and Serenity had sex that night, didn't you?" 

Seto took in a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. "Yes...yes, we did." 

Mokuba sat up straight, eyes suddenly sparking with interest. "What was it like?" 

Seto laughed. "Mokuba, I KNOW you are _not a virgin." _

His younger brother blushed a bit. "Yeah, but I want to know what your thoughts are on this matter." 

He leaned his head back a bit on the couch, smiling widely. "It was beautiful. The most wonderful feeling I ever had. Because of her, I began to feel again. Live again. She filled me completely, consumed my heart and soul. I became scared to death. So fucking scared. I did the only thing I could do when faced with such a feeling. I tucked my tail between my legs and ran. And because she didn't want anybody to know about us, I thought she was ashamed of me, so that just made things worse. I can't believe how fucking insecure I was! Still am." He leaned forward, staring at Mokuba. "But enough about me. Wasn't this conversation originally about you?"

Mokuba lowered his eyes. "It's Rebecca," he whispered. "She won't talk to me." 

Seto's eyes flashed, almost in disbelief. Those two have been going at it like rabbits in spring time for the past two years! "What do you mean?" 

"Exactly that," he confirmed. "She won't call me, she ignores my calls, she pretends she's out whenever I come over, and I haven't spoken to her for the past two and a half weeks!" He finally looked back up at Seto, blood-indigo eyes wide and pleading. "What am I going to do, Seto? We were just fine a few days before. We had made love, and spent the whole next day together, and we were great." 

"So she just stopped talking to you, huh?" 

"Yes!" 

Seto looked confused, but a hearty laugh from the housekeeper as she brought in thier lunch made them both look up. "Something amusing, Cynthia?" Seto demanded.

Cynthia, having never given in to Seto's demands for she had been working at the Kaiba Mansion long before Seto even graced the grounds with his existence, simply smiled. "So she has stopped talking to you, huh, little one?" she declared, placing the tray of food on a table. "Tell me, has Miss Rebecca been sick at all?" 

"Well, now that you mention it, her grandfather did tell me once when I called over there that she was throwing up, especially in the morning." He glared at her. "But what does that have to do with anything?" He glanced at Seto, who just sat there looking completely clueless.

Cynthia rolled her eyes in disgust. "For all the intelligence you two possess," she remarked as she departed the room, "it is quite amazing how extremely _ignorant you are." _

Seto and Mokuba exchanged incredulous expressions. What was THAT supposed to mean? 

***

Because he was the only person she could really talk to, Rebecca found herself entering the Kame Game shop. _::Uh-oh, trouble,:: Yami announced in Yugi's mind-link. Yugi rolled his eyes, mentally gave Yami a good thawk on the head before stepping around the counter to greet Rebecca with a warm smile. "Hey, Rebecca, how's it going?" _

Rebecca nodded but when she did not return his smile, Yugi knew something was wrong. "Rebecca, what is it?" he inquired, large crimson eyes growing with concern. Even Yami listened intensely, though Rebecca sort of scared him. 

"It's about Mokuba," she answered softly. 

_::Ah, Kaiba trouble. Who would've thought?:: _Yami remarked, and Yugi had to, reluctantly, agree. 

Deciding it was best to discuss this in more private accommodations, Yugi led Rebecca into the living room and set her on the couch. "Would you like anything to drink?" he asked. "Milk? Kool-Aid? Coke? We don't have much; Grandpa just left for grocery shopping." 

"A Coke, please," she replied, her voice soft and almost scared-sounding. __

_::Told you telling Kaiba how to use the Shennon Rod was a bad idea::_

_::Hey! YOU were the one who gave it to him in the first place! And quit blaming him for everything that happens!::_

_::Don't blame me if he becomes just like Yami no Malik::_

Yugi sighed deeply. _::Will you relax? Kaiba doesn't even have a yami::_

_::May we all be put out of our misery and execute the fates if he does!::_

_::You're just pissed because you haven't dueled anyone worth dueling in forever::_

_::That too!!!::_

Yugi rolled his eyes as he brought out two glasses of Coke, one for Rebecca and one for himself. "So, what's wrong between you and Mokuba?" he inquired slowly sipping his drink. 

Rebecca simply stared into her glass, as if she found her reflection comforting. "Nothing, really. I mean, we haven't fought fought or anything like that." 

_::Fought fought?:: _Yami inquired. 

_::Meaning Rebecca yells at Mokuba and Mokuba actually yells back::_

_::Oh, _that'll_ be the day!::_

"So what's the trouble?" Yugi prodded gently. Rebecca really did seem to be in a mess, a state he never saw her in before. For once, she was not her usual confident, bratty self, but actually scared and unsure of what to do next. She set her untouched drink down on the table, and he followed suit, suddenly not very thirsty himself. Finally, she turned her huge emerald eyes to him. 

"You know how intimate Mokuba and I have been as of late, right?" she began. 

Yugi nodded, suddenly starting to understand where this might be going, but wanting to hear it from her anyway. 

Rebecca hesitated, not sure how to break the news. She couldn't believe this was happening! And she was just barely sixteen! Holy shit, how was her grandfather going to take this!? And even though Mokuba would probably never leave her...

...what if he did?? What if he decided he was bored with her? Even though they had been each other's firsts, Mokuba was a wild, spirited buck, and he was bound to get sick of Rebecca's rants and fits sooner or later. 

Yugi and Yami both instantly became alarmed when Rebecca burst into a flood of tears. Sobbing violently, she flung herself on Yugi, holding him tightly. "Yugi," she cried admist her tearful rage. "I love Mokuba! I don't want him to leave me!" 

"Why would he leave you?" Yugi blinked, sincerely confused. 

Rebecca choked, barely able to force the words out of her throat. "Because, Yugi...I...I'm pregnant." 


	6. And so the Glass Shatters REPOST

You all are probably wondering why this is a repost.

Well, something happened with my disk, or FF went funky on me or something, but the final upload in this chapter had taken out a huge hunk of the story...okay, not a HUGE hunk, but about four or five paragraphs. As the authoress, I just couldn't deal with that, so I went back and reposted this chapter.

Enjoy the story!! .

Disclaimer: Me owning Yu-Gi-Oh! is like Homer Simpson owning the world.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**And so the Glass Shatters**

Ah, there was nothing in this world quite like a fat mug of hot chocolate to soothe away the trials of this pathetic game called "life". At least, that's what Serenity thought as she lost herself in the bliss of Hershey heat sliding down her throat. For a brief moment, she almost forgot what had taken place between her and Kaiba yesterday...almost.

Malik watched her with observant amethyst eyes, and a dark glimmer radiated in those deep orbs. Ever since Seto Kaiba came back from the States, Serenity had been acting so depressed. _I can't believe I actually put her through that in Battle Ship, _he thought. _It's all my fault that she's probably traumatized by him! _

Malik knew Kaiba and Serenity had completed the dare so long ago. Just the way they acted the next morning nearly shouted the obvious to all who could hear, except to deaf nitwits like Joey. Still, he didn't think that it would have such an impact on her, even now. He couldn't believe he had been such ass!

Those amethyst eyes became even darker.

What if the problem was that Kaiba was not ceasing in his harassments? After all, didn't Serenity once say that Kaiba expected more from her and wouldn't leave her alone? A wicked gleam flickered in those lilac pairs. Maybe he should pay a visit to Seto Kaiba, grab the Sennen Rod, and shove it right up his--

"Something wrong, Malik?"

Her voice shattered his malicious thoughts, and he found himself staring into those honey brown eyes that he adored so much.

Or...

Another thought awoke within him, one that had been eating at him ever since he acknowledged Serenity's depression. What if--

_NO!!!!!!!_

Their marriage was one made of love, of purity. What happened was gone, in the past, vanished like souls of the dead crossing the vast desert to the Afterlife. How dare he even suspect her of such a thing!?!

He smiled as he gazed at her. Sweet Ra, but she was beautiful. The gods had blessed him, despite everything he had done, that was for certain. He was wrong in allowing such thoughts to enter his brain.

"Nothing, beloved," he replied in answer to her question. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About how unhappy you have been in the past few weeks and if there is anything I can do to help."

Was that surprise that had flickered in those beautiful doey eyes? Or something else?

He couldn't help it. He was, after all, only human, completely equipped with human desires, human curiosities...and human suspicions. He had to know, he had to prove...

Malik's smile turned into a boyish grin. "I have a great idea, Serenity! Let's leave this place! Let's get plane tickets and book a cruise for Australia or something. We'll leave right away."

Serenity nearly spat out her cocoa. Was he serious?? "Um, Malik..." she began hesitantly. "...what about work?"

He snorted, as if she had told a lame joke. "What about it? As far as I'm concerned, I am well overdue for a vacation, and I know Mokuba can give you at least a week or two off. Besides, he's going completely bonkers because Rebecca won't give him the time of day anymore."

"Malik..." This idea was insane! Wonderful, yes, but unrealistic.

"I know that I have been far too tired to spend time with you these past two weeks, with new patients coming in and all," he continued. "I want to make it up to you."

"Word of your success has spread, so more people are entrusting you with their problems," Serenity pointed out softly. "You should be so proud."

She jumped when Malik leaped to his feet, slamming the table with his fists. "Dammit, Serenity, my duties as a psychiatrist are trivial compared to my duties as a husband!"

She couldn't reply. Only stare. Something was wrong. Malik _never, _not once during the entire duration of their marriage, raised his voice to her.

Next thing Serenity knew, Malik was kneeling next to her chair, his arms wrapped tightly around her, lying his head against her shoulder. "Beloved, I just want to prove to you how much I love you. Let's take that cruise. It could be fun. Please. I just want to spend some alone time with you."

Her own guilt eating her up inside, Serenity returned his hold, clinging to him tightly as if he might vanish forever. Yes, Malik was right. She needed to get away. Get away from Kaiba, from the tight grip he had on her. Humph! He probably made up that sob story about his scars just to make her feel bad, trick her into thinking that there was something more between the two of them.

Well, there wasn't! She was sure of it! Just because Kaiba knew how to fuck right meant diddly squat.

Kaiba had been a good lay.

And nothing more.

Of course, that was not true. But, in a situation such as this, she had no choice but to keep lying to herself.

* * *

The salesclerk had to keep from sighing out-loud with impatience as the three customers before him pined over the ring section. It was one thing to be indecisive, but he wanted to make at least a few good sales before the second coming of Christ here!

"How about that one?" the blonde suggested.

The raven-head, who was obviously the one doing the buying, grimaced. "She hates pink," he replied.

"You're kidding!"

"No, I'm not."

"Are you sure she hates pink?"

The raven-head narrowed his blood-indigo eyes. "Joey," he began slowly, as if to keep from losing it, "I think I would know."

The tall brunette rolled his blue eyes, all this becoming an increasing bore to him. Dammit, this was the third damn jewelry store they've been in. _For the love of all things holy, Mokuba, PICK A FUCKING RING ALREADY!!!!_

Despite this extra heavy boost of malicious nastiness that had entered his soul, he was doing a good job of keeping his mouth shut.

The salesclerk cleared his throat. "Out of curiosity, sir, are you actually planning on _buying _anything today?"

That earned instant glares from all three of them.

"Hey, butt out, buddy!" Joey snarled. "He's picking out an engagement ring for his sweetheart! This is something that takes time, takes heart! Only the _right _ring will do! Nothing less."

Kaiba snorted. And this was coming from a guy who had gotten Mai's engagement ring out of a fifty-cent machine!!!

Mokuba hadn't even noticed the exchange. "You guys, I'm not finding it," he sighed. "Man, why do these things have to be so hard? Don't get me wrong; all these rings are extremely beautiful but they're just not speaking to me."

_Mokuba, I swear, if you drag me into one more fucking jewelry store, I am going to buy you a ring and shove it up your ass, so when you propose to your bitch tonight, you can _shit _it out!!!!!!!_

Now THAT was uncalled for. As soon as the thought completely, Kaiba was instantly sorry. No, he didn't mean it. But damn! He didn't understand where this viciousness came from at all!

Wait, yes he did.

Serenity. Ever since she left him yesterday. Of course, he hadn't exactly been a gracious host, however calling someone up and apologizing for his behavior was totally out of character for him.

"What about that one?"

"Umm...no, it doesn't look right."

Besides, he didn't know her number, anyway.

So close. He and Serenity had been so freakin' close that morning. He inhaled deeply, still feeling her smooth skin underneath his hands, his lips still tasting her mouth, her breasts, loins still burning with ache from the way she touched him...

"Hey, this one's cool. It even comes with a chain."

"That's a necklace, Joey."

His cinnamon hair bristled as the rage and frustration began to build within him. He was beginning to hate Serenity, hate her for the way she was making him feel, hate her for reducing him to some male whore sniffing after her skirt like a jackass in heat, braying for her affections. He hated her for making him yearn for just the sound of her voice, making him grow hungry just by thinking of her. Hated her for making his throat constrict with panic and horror at the mere concept of never being near her again.

Soon, these highly dangerous and disturbing thoughts faded to one so dangerous, he actually shivered inside for thinking it. Yet this was not the first time it had invaded his mind.

"Hey! That ring's sorta shaped like a pe--"

"JOEY! I'm trying to concentrate!"

Was he...truly..._in love _with Serenity???

Before he could contemplate on the matter further, a sound caught his attention and he turned his head back to the counter.

The salesclerk cleared his throat as he struggled not to pop a vein. "Pardon me, sir," he growled softly, his voice directed at an oblivious Mokuba, "but I really can't have any loitering going on in my store. I have a reputation, you know. If you can't find what you are looking for, then please leave and come back later."

FINALLY!!!

Wearing his traditional smirk, Kaiba strode over to the counter, eternally grateful that his build-up of raging hormones had found a scapegoat. "Excuse me," he began as politely as possible, "but _no one _talks to my brother like that and gets away with it."

The salesclerk looked up and paled upon seeing the KC logo emblazed on the collar of Kaiba's leather jacket. "M-m-mister Kaiba!" he stammered, sweat-beads actually forming on his brow. "And this is...I-I-I-I didn't know...I--"

"Well, you do now," Kaiba sneered. "So why don't you do us a favor and leave yourself because you obviously are not doing your job very well. Or do I have to--"

"Found it!!"

All three of them stared at Mokuba, who was proudly pointing at a specific ring. "This is it! I know it is! Just what I've been looking for!"

The salesclerk moved quickly to bring it out onto the counter, presenting a beautiful ring with single teardrop emerald in between two tiny diamonds on a golden band. Joey raised a brow. "It's so...simple...and tiny," he remarked.

Mokuba beamed, holding it up to the light so he could view it at all angles. "Exactly. It's perfect!"

"So, you'll buy it?" the clerk asked.

"Of course!" Mokuba exclaimed as he handed the ring back, too lost in his own happiness to take notice of the sudden tension in the air.

Relived, the salesclerk was about to go to the register when Kaiba reached over and grabbed his wrist. "Considering your rudeness earlier, wouldn't it be fair to give this ring to my brother for free?" he inquired, ever so nicely, but the icy ferocity never once wavered in his eyes.

"I can't!" the clerk cried. "That's a 600 dollar ring! My boss will kill me!"

"Good man, I think you have more important things to worry about right now than your boss," Kaiba purred. He began squeezing the wrist in his hand. "Like what _I'm _going to do to you if you don't do as I say. Then you can simply explain to your boss what a rude son-of-a-bitch you have been towards your customers."

Shaking visibly, the salesclerk placed the ring in its box and handed it to Mokuba. Then teen said nothing, but skipped off with his new ring, Joey not far behind him. Kaiba released the salesclerk and grinned. "Pleasure doing business with you," he declared and departed the store.

* * *

Stomach churning with nerves, Mokuba stood outside of Rebecca's house, then knocked on the door. Her grandfather answered, smiling at Mokuba, who was still clueless about the news. "Come in," he greeted. "Rebecca is in her room."

"I really hate to intrude like this," Mokuba explained, "but I was desperate to see her."

"Yes, I know. And I also know that Rebecca has missed you as well. Though, it might not seem like it. In fact, she may seem to hate you."

Mokuba's head snapped up. "Wha-why?"

Arthur grinned, remembering how his wife and his daughter had gone through the very same attitude adjustments. "It's a woman thing," was all he said.

Mokuba still didn't understand, but all thoughts of that vanished once he reached her bedroom. Rock music flowed out from behind the door, not very loud but enough to hear the thump of bass and lyrics heavy with angst, and he knocked vigorously. "Rebecca, it's me, Mokuba!"

She ignored him.

He sighed. "Reb, please, talk to me. I have no idea what I've done, but I promise I will make it up to you. I love you. Anything you want of me, I'll do. Please--"

He was cut off when the door swung open and Rebecca stood there, her once proud, defiant emerald eyes puffy and red from tears. Mokuba gawked, unable to believe it. "Rebecca!" he cried. "Why have you been crying!?"

For a long moment she stared at him. Then she brought her hand back, and the next thing Mokuba knew, he was slammed against the doorway from the force of her slap. He stared in shock and hurt as he gently rubbed his throbbing cheek. "Rebecca--"

"Make it up to me!?!" she shrieked, quivering with rage. "Make it up to me!!!" She jabbed a finger to her stomach. "HOW CAN YOU MAKE _THIS _UP TO ME!?!?!?"

Mokuba's eyes drifted to her stomach, and saw that it was rounding quite considerably. That's when all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell together. That's when he understood the truth. "Rebecca--"

"I HATE YOU, MOKUBA KAIBA!!!" she screamed, new tears streaming down her face. "I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!! I NEVER WANNA SEE YOU EVER AGAIN!!" And with that, she slammed the door in his face.

Mokuba continued to stare as if no movement had been made before him.

Rebecca was pregnant.

Holy shit, he was a dad!!!!

And from the looks of things, apparently she had been pregnant for a couple of months now, beginning to show the signs. He slammed his hand against his forehead. How could he have been so incredibly stupid???

It certainly explained why Rebecca seemed to hate him. When Mai had become pregnant about two years ago, she had been pissed off at Joey for months, and they were married!

Given the fact that Rebecca was pregnant, and Mokuba hadn't even proposed to her yet..._damn it all, I'd hate me, too!_

Arthur greeted Mokuba at the foot of the stairs, still smiling as if this were a normal everyday ordeal. Mokuba's eyes were out of focus, as if he were in a trance, finally reaching the floor. "Rebecca's...having a baby," he whispered.

Arthur raised his brows. "Rebecca's having a baby?" he repeated. He handed Mokuba a set of ultra-sound pictures. "Take a good look at those pictures, son," he pointed out. "You might want to rephrase your statement."

Mokuba blinked in confusion before turning his attention to the ultra-sounds. Then he saw something that really got his attention. What the--!!! Mokuba flipped through them all, unable to believe what he was seeing. Was such a thing even possible with a girl as young as Rebecca? Overwhelming emotions surged with him: joy, confusion, shock, alarm...until finally, unable to take anymore, his eyes rolled and he collapsed unconscious on the floor.

* * *

Seto gawked at the ultra-sounds as he and Mokuba sat in the lobby of the Kame Game Shop. Yugi's friends had agreed that they would wait for Mokuba to come back with the news of Rebecca's answer, either by phone or in person. They did not expect him to come back so soon, nor the ultra-sounds he carried.

"Sweet cheezits, Mokuba, you how many damn times did you knock her up!?!" Joey cried, staring over Kaiba's shoulder.

Mokuba narrowed his eyes. "The number of times I've..._made love _to her, first of all has nothing to do with how many babies a woman can have at one time, and secondly, _is none of your damn business!!" _

"Looking at these ultra-sounds and how many times you and Rebecca have been going at it makes me wonder!" Seto snapped. "Shit! Is such a thing possible in a sixteen-year-old girl!?!"

"Apparently," Tea remarked, stirring some hot chocolate for everyone.

Seto sighed, placing the ultra-sounds on the table, to be instantly picked up by Joey. "All I got to say is, you're on your own on this one, kid. From now on, I'm just the uncle."

Joey released a low whistle as he continued to pan through the pictures. "Damn...no wonder Rebecca hates you."

Groaning with a half-sob, Mokuba allowed his head to hit the table in defeat.

_::What's going on?:: _Yami demanded, having woken up from a nap.

_::Mokuba's showing everyone his ultra-sounds:: _Yugi replied as he helped Tea with the cocoa.

Yami raised his brows. _::Rebecca's having a baby, huh? Didn't see _that_ coming:: _

_::Nope!:: _Yugi grinned. When Yami stared, he continued, _::She's having triplets!::_

* * *

"Jessica, get away from that table right now before you get hurt!"

The three-year-old squealed with delight, abandoning the coffee table as Mai began chasing her around the house. Serenity smiled, drinking a glass of water, watching in amusement. Jessica was so much a little Joey, who had always been thrilled whenever he got into trouble, giving their parents a difficult time. Jessica herself was only two and she was already _running. _

Mai and Joey had married a few months before Serenity and Malik did. Serenity was shocked that Joey had bought Mai's engagement ring from a 50-cent machine, and was even more shocked that Mai had actually found it wonderfully charming. "Had it been huge and expensive," she had said, "then I would have to question his honesty."

Well, that made sense...somewhat.

Giggles erupted as Mai returned to the living room, carrying the blonde bundle of energy in her arms. "All righty, you," she declared, "it's playpen time." And with that, she popped Jessica into the playpen, and instantly, the toddler became interested in her stuffed animals. Mai released a deep breath before plopping back down on the couch to continue their interrupted conversation. "So, you and Kaiba came this close to going all the way, huh?"

Serenity nodded as she fumbled with her glass, blushing with shame. She couldn't look at Mai. Those violet eyes had never once judged her, and she didn't want to experience it now, thought she completely deserved it. "I was ready for him to take me then and there. More than ready. I know it's wrong, and that I'm..." she shuddered, "...cheating on Malik, but I couldn't help it. Even after all this time, I want him. I want him so badly." She laughed, a small, bitter laugh. "Pathetic, huh?"

She fully expected Mai to agree with her full-heartedly. Mai's response was the opposite.

"Nope."

Serenity stared. "What?"

"Joey throwing a fit because his favorite football team lost," Mai explained, "is what's pathetic. Never compare that to true love, hun."

True love!?!? Serenity turned even redder. "Mai...me and Kaiba...in love? Hardly. I mean, we just slept together once, seven years ago, and now we just want to re-experience it. That is hardly love."

Mai smiled, shaking her head. "How do you know what you and Seto did wasn't perfectly right? What if your marriage to Malik was the wrong thing to do?"

At first there was silence, the only sound being Jessica dissecting her teddy bear with her bare hands.

"It's too late for that now," Serenity protested. "I'm married to Malik. I love Malik."

"Marriage out of love and marriage out of compassion is not the same thing, Serenity," Mai pointed out.

Serenity balked. What?

Then again, it was true, wasn't it? Her overly compassionate and charitable heart had blinded her to the facts, as it always did. But she remembered the pure love and devotion shining from those amethyst eyes. How could she bring herself to say 'no'!?! Was that it? Now that she thought about it, had her marriage to Malik Ishtar been nothing more than an act of pity on her part?

Unshed tears gathered in her eyes. It couldn't be true! It just couldn't!!

And yet...

Mai shrugged. "Then again, I could be wrong. Who's to know what's right and what's wrong?" She looked over at Jessica, a bright shine of happiness lighting her eyes. "I suppose you'll never know until you finally find that one person whom you share a heart and a soul. Then it all becomes clear."

That didn't exactly make a whole lot of sense to Serenity. Then again, as she thought about it, maybe she wasn't supposed to understand...at least not yet, anyway. "Well, I'd better get going. Malik wanted to leave for a cruise tonight, and I haven't even begun to pack."

"Have fun!" Mai chirped. "And don't worry about Kaiba. Be sure you enjoy yourself, okay?"

"I will," Serenity promised. As she carried her glass to the kitchen, she happened to glance at the coffee table Jessica had been playing on earlier. A thick novel sat by the lamp entitled _Secret Fantasy, _a muscular man and a scantly-clad woman embracing each other on the cover. "Mai, I had no idea you were into romance novels!" Serenity declared.

"I'm not, however, the guy on the front was hot so curiosity got the best of me. Joey says I should them for reference. Ha! As if! It's actually a really good story so far. Not as mushy as I thought it would be, which is good."

Serenity turned the book over and began reading the summery in the back. After a minute or two, she gasped. "It says here that the main character is married to another man," she stated.

Mai grinned. "That's what makes the story delicious. The beauty of it is that the husband knows she's cheating, too, and he blames himself. He thinks that because he hasn't been paying attention to her, it's his fault she wandered off to greener pastures. He won't say a word, not even hint, about his knowledge. He wants to prove to her that he is a better man. So he lavishes her with gifts: expensive jewelry, shopping sprees, random cruises..." Mai was about to go on about the key-points of the story when the sound of glass shattering against the floor cut her off.

"Serenity, what's wrong!?!"

Serenity did not reply, staring at the book, but not seeing it. All things in the world were vanquished from existence except one thought:

_He knows!!_

_Malik knows!!!_

* * *

Hee hee hee. Another cliffie. I know. I am purely evil. XD

Don't forget to look at my bio and check out my RPG. waves hands in front of your face as hippy guitar string music plays in the background You...will...join...XD

Um...yeah, no more Vanilla Coke for me. ;;


	7. South Pacific

Guess who's back? Back again? Shardy's back. Tell a friend.

Hee hee hee...

Yayness! I am over my writer's block! And I graduated two days ago!! Whoo-hoo!!!

And I have a boyfriend now. His name is Aaron. And he's a big Bakura fan.

Double whoo-hoo!!!

Updates will be faster as I am now out of school and have nothing else better to do for the rest of the summer except torture Kat and Kassie and make-out with Aaron. =D

Some of you have asked me whether or not this story is based on an actual novel. Well, it is sorta. When I was in this extremely cute little bookstore a few years ago (now it's gone sniff), I happened upon this book entitled _Fantasy. _The main character had been in a relationship with this guy, and after he left, she traveled the entire world looking for him. I never read it but I want to. Then I have this other book called _When Nick Returns. _This one tells a story about a girl named Eden and a boy named Nick who had a relationship together throughout their entire college career. But then Nick suffered through a hockey accident and left the state, and returned years later to find out Eden is engaged to his older brother, Cal. At first, neither of them really cares too much for the situation, but then Nick and Eden realize that they still have feelings for each other. It's a sad book really. Okay, on with the story.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**South Pacific**

* * *

****

Upon seeing the ship that they were going to board, Serenity gasped in awe, instantly forgetting the torturously boring and uneventful plane trip she and Malik had taken to get here. The huge ship, white and blazing with the reflection of the newly awakened sun, decorated with colorful flags and flowers, would make the _Titanic_ jealous, so to speak. Serenity turned in disbelief to stare at Malik, who continued to grin widely and boyishly at her. "Like it?"

"Malik...I...wow...how did you manage to pay for all this!?"

He laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Actually, I confess. I have been saving up for this moment for a long time."

She nearly choked in surprise. "And you've been keeping this back from me!?"

"You better believe it, baby."

Ducking from under his arm, she playfully poked him in the stomach. "I don't know whether I should smack you or kiss you. I thought the grocery finances were a little scant."

Like a couple of students going to their first Prom, Malik and Serenity practically skipped on board and into their room, where their luggage was waiting, an outlandish cabin complete with private bathroom, tiny kitchen, cable TV, and a huge king-sized bed. "Special request. I wanted plenty of room," Malik teased with a wicked gleam in his lilac eyes.

"Is sex all you think about?" Serenity retorted good-naturedly, plopping down on the mattress. Ooh. Bouncy.

Still smirking, Malik crawled over to her and began stroking her stomach with one hand. "No," he whispered, leaning over her, his hand slowly sliding under her tank top. "You are all I think about."

He kissed her softly, hands caressing her body as she held him close. Soon, Serenity was overcome with the heaviest weight of guilt. Never had she hated herself any more than she did at this moment. As if sensing her inner turmoil, Malik pulled away, gazing down at her in concern. "Beloved, what's wrong?" he inquired soothingly. "You can tell me. You know you can tell me anything."

It took everything she was not to burst into tears. So, Serenity shoved Malik away and disappeared into the bathroom, running the water on its highest pressure to drown her soft sobbing. Malik sighed as he stared at the closed door. He did not feel anger, he knew he should be, but instead he just felt grief and like a total failure.

_Who is he, Serenity? _

* * *

Meanwhile, back home, the Hawkings residence became quite the place of action. The main event usually consisted of Mokuba Kaiba flying out the front door with several sharp, shiny objects in hot pursuit. Joey, Yugi, and Tristan accompanied him as a sort of male support group thingie only to dive into the bushes to avoid being potential targets of Rebecca's wrath. A pregnant teen with triplets was not a cherished experience. Especially for the poor father.

But Mokuba was, after all, a Kaiba, and each day of this that passed made him ever more determined.

Poor fool.

On the fourth day, he had it. Yugi, Joey, and Tristan observed from the safety of across the street as Mokuba climbed a tree conveniently growing just outside Rebecca's bedroom. Balancing precariously on the edge of the branch, Mokuba managed to open the window and slip inside.

"He's gonna die," Tristan commented.

"Yup," Yugi agreed.

"Quite sad, really," Joey added.

Except Mokuba didn't go all the way through the window.

"Why did he stop?" Tristan inquired.

"Uh...." was all Yugi could say.

"Holy hell, he's stuck!" Joey exclaimed.

Indeed, Mokuba hadn't been able to slip entirely through the window. The window was small, and only opened maybe a foot or so at most, meaning that only the slenderest of people could easily squeeze through. And while Mokuba was extremely slender like his brother, he had one thing Seto didn't, and that was a butt, which was about as well developed as the Dark Magician's.

"Memo to me," Mokuba muttered to himself as he sorta hung there in Rebecca's bathroom window, "lay off the chocolate parfaits. Okay, Kaiba, get a grip on yourself. You obviously can't go forward, so all we have to do is scoot back onto the tree and get back down to the ground."

Problem. Much to Mokuba's horror, he discovered that he was quite stuck. Stuck as in stuck stuck. Stuck as in unable-to-move-either-forward-or-backward stuck. Yeah. That kind of stuck.

Instantly Mokuba remembered all the times how he bragged to Seto about how he was the only one in the Kaiba family to be blessed with an ass.

Damn Karma.

"Well, this is embarrassing to say the least," he groaned unhappily. How was he going to explain this one to Rebecca? He could see the headlines now. _Younger Brother of Kaiba Corp. CEO Found Stuck Inside Girlfriend's Bathroom Window. _Mokuba always wanted to do something to be remembered in the world. Just not that.

Mokuba's head snapped up when he heard footsteps coming down the hall, his blood-violet eyes nearly popping out of his skull.

If Rebecca saw him here, all Pandemonium will crumble into dust and Hell itself would be reduced to smoldering ashes.

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..._

The door creaked open.

Mokuba closed his eyes tightly, expecting his life to be over any second. Death came to him while he hung stuck in a bathroom window of all places! Talk about an embarrassing end. Seto would laugh amidst his tears, saying how he told his younger brother that having an ass was a curse not a--

"Mokuba?" the soft voice inquired. "What are you doing?"

Slowly, Mokuba lifted his head. Rebecca indeed stood there, looking a bit bigger than normal, her eyes still red-rimmed with unshed tears. Mokuba thought he hadn't seen her look more beautiful than she did then, but to say so would probably make her rip his head off, and then his death wouldn't be just embarrassing but messy to say the least. Well, at least she wasn't angry...yet.

"I...uh..." He wasn't sure what to say in case she'd explode.

Her green eyes turned to the ground. As if she had read his thoughts, she whispered, "Please, just tell me."

"I came to see you."

She snorted.

"I did," he insisted. "I wanted to see you, to be near you again."

She was shaking her head, her frazzled blonde hair becoming even more frazzled in the process. "How can you say that?" she demanded, that old spark of anger returning. "How can you say such a thing? Why would you want to be near me when I look like this? I am no longer beautiful for you, Mokuba! I'm fat now, and ugly!"

"You are pregnant with our children, how is that not beautiful?" Mokuba replied softly.

Rebecca stopped dead in her ranting, and stared at him with wide eyes. "What? You...you mean..."

"Rebecca, I love you, you will always be beautiful to me no matter what you look like on the outside," he continued. "I fell in love with _you, _not your looks."

A tear slowly slipped out of the corner of her eye, and fell upon her cheek. "Do you mean that, Mokuba."

"More now than ever," he confirmed. "In fact, there was another reason why I wanted to come here today. Why I have been coming here everyday." Thanking to whatever higher being was watching over him that his front pockets were still accessible, Mokuba reached into one of them and pulled out a small black box. Rebecca stared then her mouth dropped open in shock when he opened the lid and revealed the ring to her. "Rebecca, I want you to marry me. I know we're still really young and you've still have to finish high school but I would be honored if you would wear this as a token of our engagement." He had been working on those words for the past two weeks. Seto had offered to make it sound more articulate, but Mokuba told him that he didn't want outside vibes in his proposal. It was his and his alone. Even if he did sound like the world's biggest idiot.

"Mokuba, I--" Rebecca was in shock. She had no idea what to say. She always dreamed of Mokuba asking her to marry him, and now that he was in real life, it seemed too good to be true and she was frozen. She wanted to say "Yes" the moment the question popped out of his mouth, yet she felt that if she did so, he and this very moment would vanish into non-existence.

He held her gaze within his own, and Rebecca felt herself melting into it until she realized she was kneeling next to him. "Just say it, Rebecca," he whispered, lips brushing against hers. "Say you'll marry me."

Her voice just refused to work. So Rebecca nodded vigorously, hiccupping slightly as her tears rushed uncontrollably down her face. Then she grabbed his shoulders, hugging him tightly, burying her face in his mane of raven hair. "I love you so much, Mokuba Kaiba," she choked. At his indication, she pulled away as he took the ring out of the box and slipped the emerald teardrop upon her finger.

Mrs. Mokuba Kaiba. Her. Rebecca.

EEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!!

She leaped to her feet, her eyes filled with joy, her heart completely psyched to the point of explosion. She had friends to call, wedding decorations to pick out, holy crap what was the day!? Her dress, what will it look like?! Kids names, kiddy clothes, they would have to move into a new place......

But first...

"I have to show Grandpa!" she exclaimed, whirling around and running out of the bathroom.

"Rebecca, WAIT!" Mokuba called. "What about--!?!"

But in her excitement, she did not hear him.

Well, damn. Mokuba sighed as he just hung there, feeling slightly dizzy from all the blood rushing to his brain.

Still, how many guys can say they proposed to their girlfriends while hanging in their bathroom windows? Not many.

* * *

"He's still hanging there," Tristan observed.

"Poor guy," Yugi added sympathetically.

"I'm hungry," Joey declared to no one in particular.

* * *

The party was more or less a formal gathering of the upper-crust, in other words, people Malik had no desire to associate with. Still, this was for Serenity, and he desired nothing other than to give her everything she could ever wish for.

Her innocent and naturally beautiful looks won her instantly with the other models of the crowd, and several of them had dragged her away for "girl talk", prying their plastic noses into her personal life. Some looked at Malik, blushing and giggling, and he knew they found him quite the catch, even in their crowd. Malik didn't care. They could look all they want. If he wanted to date a Barbie doll, he could buy one at Wal-Mart for 12 bucks. He watched Serenity giggle delicately as she spoke with the others, and when it became obvious that she was having a good time and didn't need him watching her like a hawk anymore, he turned his attention to his wine glass. He took a sip, his eyes scanning the crowd. Couples danced, some looked his way, women with interest, men with distain, at the dark-skinned, bright-eyed, pale-haired rogue in a suit and tie. People did talk to him, and he gauged in their reactions when he revealed that he was a doctor, a psychiatrist to be exact. After about forty minutes, he had won the respect of about over half of the attendees.

Funny how in this world, career occupations were held higher than personal morality.

Maybe things would be better if his darker half did take over this pathetic rock.

Malik shivered as something dark and ugly slinked up his spine. The memory was still so vivid in his mind after all these years. No. He'd rather put up with the trials and errors of this social Darwinism than have to go through that living Hell again.

Alone again finally, Malik took a longer, deeper swig of his wine to bury those horrific experiences. When he lowered his empty glass, something white flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see a gentleman leave the room. Curious, Malik set down his glass and followed out into the hall void of any other soul, save the man walking away, slightly taller than himself with snow-white hair.

"Bakura!" Malik cried out in surprise.

The figure froze instantly, shoulders scrunched as if to appear tiny and invisible, alabaster ends of his hair sticking out in all sorts of odd angles, two of which seeming to represent horns, or rabbit ears as Malik liked to tease.

"I'd never thought I'd live to see the day when you would be wearing a tuxedo," Malik remarked, brows raised in surprise.

Bakura turned his head, his brown eyes almost crimson as this was the demon, not the angel. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Malik choked. "What am I doing!? I am providing luxury for my wife. I can do that, you know. The question is, what are YOU doing here? What, did you sneak on and steal some poor fool's tuxedo?"

"I am also providing luxury for someone special, thankyouverymuch," came the reply.

Malik nearly choked. "You?"

Bakura growled under his breath. "It's Ryou's stupid infatuation, okay? Seeing as I am stuck in his body, I hardly have a say anymore."

"What girl did you take here?"

"Easy. Your sister."

He could only blink. The world seemed to tilt. Malik felt like he was going to faint right where he stood. "Isis is here!?" he managed to force out.

"Unless you have another sister we don't know about."

Dammit! Malik wanted to punch something. The wall looked like a promising target. So did Bakura. But he didn't trust himself, so he just let his fists clench at his sides. Isis probably found out about this cruise, so she dragged Bakura along as a date to keep an eye on her baby brother. Couldn't she see that he was healed now? And what the hell was she doing with the likes of Bakura Ryou anyway? Granted, Ryou was sweet in a silent, morbid way, but his rabbit demon alter-ego was another story.

This whole time, Malik had noticed that Bakura still had his back to him, and the Egyptian glared at the rabbit in suspicion. "Bakura, what do you have?"

"None of your business!"

"Let's see."

"NO!" Bakura clutched at his stomach tighter.

"We are on a ship, Bakura. There's nowhere you can go. You'll get caught eventually."

"No, it's mine, I found it!!"

Bakura looked ready to spring, but Malik was faster, and grabbed Bakura by the arm. The halls rang with a chinking sound like metal rain as many silver objects hit the floor and upon each other. Malik blinked and Bakura snatched his arm away. "Pure silver. Can you believe it?"

"Bakura," Malik began slowly, raising his eyes to the rabbit demon. "You're stealing spoons."

Bakura glanced at the hundreds of spoons scattered at their feet. "Yeah," he replied, as if challenging Malik to elaborate further. "You've got a problem with spoons?"

Malik rolled his eyes in disgust. "People eat with those, Bakura!"

"They're made out of pure silver!" Bakura protested. "Do you have any idea how much pure silver is worth!?"

"They're spoons!!" Malik exclaimed. "Spoons! Who the hell is going to buy an ass-load of spoons!?!"

"I'll find someone."

"I bet you will."

Of course, they had proven this long ago. That Bakura was never really trying to find all the Millennium Items for power. It was just an excuse. To hide the real truth. Bakura was nothing more than a kleptomaniac. A crazy, demonic kleptomaniac, but a kleptomaniac just the same. Malik had drawn this conclusion when it became apparent that the oddest of things turned up missing on the Duel Ship. Food mostly, shoes, duel disk parts, even Mai Valentine's eyebrow clippers. She had screamed and ranted and raged about that for hours. Malik's ears rang just at the memory.

Now, the kleptomaniac had struck the cruise ship. This time depriving the passengers the simple pleasure of eating soup without having to drink from the bowl.

Hmm...how amusing.

"Tell you what, Bakura, I'll cover for you if you clean up all this mess," Malik offered.

Bakura stared at him suspiciously, but quickly began scooping the spoons into the fold of his jacket before the Egyptian could change his mind. "Thanks," Bakura muttered before jogging off to his room. Once the rabbit had disappeared around the corner, Malik sighed and went back into the ballroom.

* * *

A few days after Mokuba had proposed to Rebecca, Kaiba was busy working on the latest upgrades to the duel disks when it happened.

At first, it was a faint buzzing in his ears, which Kaiba instantly dismissed as one of the machines malfunctioning in the floor below his. But as the buzzing became increasingly distinct, he realized it was within his mind. He shook his head vigorously, but that didn't do any good. Undecipherable neon colors began swirling before his vision. He felt hot, his skin breaking into a sweat, and it suddenly became difficult to breathe. He drew heavy, ridged gasps for air, however it didn't seem to be working. Clinging to his desk, he stood up and took a few steps forward, not sure where he was going or why. He couldn't think, couldn't see, couldn't breathe. Kaiba reached for the phone, but it fell out of his hand as he seemed to acquire the strength of cooked noodles.

The vortex of colors soon swirled into a pool of darkness. Kaiba fell into unconsciousness before his knees even buckled, enabling him to hear the sound of his body as it slammed onto the floor. He lay there facedown on the floor, completely and perfectly still as if in death, the phone receiver swinging from the desk as it hung from its cord, beeping consistently for being offline.

* * *

Needless to say, the entire kitchen raised Hell when it came to their attention that all the spoons were missing. Serenity had thought of this as very odd, but when Malik had informed her that Bakura and Isis were also on board, she needed no further explanation. When the more prestigious of the guests complained about starving without spoons to aide them, she had to admit that she found this as amusing as Malik did. In fact, judging from the mischievous sparkle in Malik's eye, he must have had something to do with this. She said nothing. At least Bakura was stealing spoons, not jewelry off old ladies.

Other than Bakura's odd thievery, the cruise had indeed turned out to be a pleasant one. Isis and Bakura spoke with them often, but for the most part, it was just Serenity and Malik. Soon, she forgotten about when they first came onboard, forgot about everything, as she found herself drowning in Malik's love and attention. She even managed to make love to him without thinking of a certain blue-eyed dragon.

But reality slammed in all its anti-fantasy ugliness the moment Serenity and Malik returned home.

The answering machine blinked with messages, most of them from Malik's secretary informing him of upcoming appointments. The last one however nearly caused Serenity's heart to cease beating.

It was from Mokuba, and he sounded breathless and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. At first, Serenity thought Rebecca had gone into premature labor or something until his words struck home.

_"It's Seto. I don't know what's wrong, but he's in the hospital. I think...I think he's dying!" _

* * *

Cliffhanger! Yeah, you people are going to kill me. I finally update, and I leave you all with another friggin' cliffhanger. Sorry. But that's the way the story goes.

I'm sorry this chapter was so friggin' short. The rest will be longer now that I finally know what the hell I'm doing.

Hey, I told you all that this is not your typical Seto/Serenity story. Nope. Not going to have typical ending either. Though I really do like typical endings. Like PinkStarz's story? Yeah, the last chapter made me cry. Almost. I would have cried had I not been reading it in Government class.

I wasn't really sure where I was going with this chapter which was why it took me so damn long to update. I wanted to write about it, but at the same time, I'm like, "How the hell am I going to make it fit?" Then the whole Bakura and the spoon thing saved me, and I went to town. Yayness! I am over my writer's block!

Now you all are probably wondering about my other stories.

_Love is Blind--_I will continue working on that. But I will have to reread everything I wrote for it so I can get in the mood to continue. This story is extremely deep and I have to be in a certain mood in order to right it and make it sound effective. I will update soon, possibly this week (I have nothing better to do), but I promise you it will be soon.

_Seto's Girl_--Due to the fact that it is really not in popular demand, I will wait until I am finished with that story before I will update. But it WILL be updated on. Just not for another while yet.

_In This Midst of Thorns--_Something else for you to read while you wait for me to update. Considering I have already written eight chapters for it, updates will be about once or twice a week. My first YGO fic about me and my friends Kat and Kassie based on my video game series, this one being _Duelists of the Roses. _Sound Mary-Sueish? Maybe. Who cares? I wrote it for comic stupidity than anything else. Come on, it has Monty Python excerpts inside. First chapter isn't all that great so I posted the second one with it. Trust me, you will really, really like this story. Basically, the three of us get sucked back in time and all hell breaks loose. XD


	8. Ghost of You and Me

This story is actually almost done. This chapter and then the next one. I had to divide them into two because it was too long. You people are going to kill me. I'll say this one thing: bring out the tissues.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**Ghost of You and Me**

* * *

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Serenity whispered softly as she sat at the table, fingering the cup holding her untouched herbel tea. "I love two men at the same time. I love Malik because he is my husband and he has made my world so beautiful. And yet Seto makes me feel so complete and he lives in such pain that I want nothing more than to soothe it away."

"Perhaps you do love two men at once," Mai stated, gently balancing a sleeping Jessica on her lap. "Who is to say compassion cannot become love. But you can't express that love to both of them. You have to chose one."

"That's my problem. I don't know who to chose," Serenity exclaimed.

Mai looked at her straight in the eye. "What does your heart tell you?"

Serenity thought for a moment, and shook her head. "I don't know. It's as if I can't hear it speak anymore. As if it too cannot decide."

Mai looked at her thoughtfully before getting up and putting Jessica in her crib. When she came back, she had a deeper inquiring look about her. "So, what's the news with Kaiba?" she asked as tenderly as possible. "What do the doctors say?"

Finally, Serenity took a tiny sip of her tea, but it was cold now, and bitter. She could barely taste it as she remembered the details of earlier today. "Malik and I went to the hospital. Seto was unconcious and hooked up to all these machines. Luckily, he was not going to need life support but he hadn't awoken even after I had left. But the outcome is not looking good. The doctors say the infection from those scars on his back has spread rapidly throughout his body. They have medication that can stabalize the disease but there is no cure. It is too deep and too old to go away completely now." She bit her lower lip, choking back a sob. "It's only a matter of time."

"Don't say that!" Mai cried in alarm, grabbing Serenity by the shoulders. In her rush, she knocked over the tea cup. It bounced off the table and rolled onto the floor, the contents spreading and dripping from the rim of the furniture. Mai ignored it as she stared with wide violet eyes at her friend. "You mustn't say things like that, Serenity! He's strong. Seto Kaiba is very strong. He will pull through. I have seen him go through many things and he always managed to come through okay."

Serenity was shaking her head. "I have seen them, too, Mai. This is different. This infection is emotional as it is physical to him. He is strong, but he is also a human being with mortal weaknesses like any other man."

"So, you'll do that? You're giving up on him?"

She remained silent.

"Serenity?"

The younger girl shook her head again. "I don't know, Mai. Everything is just so confusing." She burst into tears and clutched Mai's arms. "I don't wanna lose him, Mai! I don't know if I love Seto or not, but if I were to lose him, I don't think I could go on living!"

"He'll pull through, Serenity," Mai replied. "He's a Kaiba. He's too stubborn to die."

"Who's too stubborn to die?" a voice demanded and both women jumped when Joey seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Serenity bit her lower lip and even Mai was a little scared to reveal their subject to Joey, unless he had been standing there for a while without their knowledge. If Joey knew Serenity was this upset over Kaiba's hospitalization, then he would know without words how she loved his worst enemy as well. The outcome was not promising. Mai had seen Joey angry--really angry---before and it was not a pleasant experience.

Joey smiled softly. "Come on, you can tell me, it's not like I'm the big bad wolf or anythin'."

Surprisingly, it was Serenity who broke the silence. "Seto's in the hospital," she whispered.

"So?" Joey began with a shrug, but then he stopped. Unfortunately for them, he was not that clueless as people thought, and he caught the frightened tone of Serenity's voice. "Seto?" He stared at her hard, and Mai cringed when she saw those amber eyes spark with the lightning she knew all too well. This was bad. Really bad. "Why did you call him 'Seto'?" he demanded slowly, his voice growing louder with each word. "Why did you call him that!? Answer me!!!"

Once again, Serenity melted into silence. It sickened Mai to see how she couldn't stand up to her own brother. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. No sense in trying to put it back in. "Because she loves him, okay, Joseph!?" she snapped, hugging an arm around Serenity.

"Oh, my God," Joey whispered, too angry to dare raise his voice any higher. "You did not just say that, Mai."

"Yes, I did."

Joey let out his breath in one huge exhale, struggling to keep his composure. "You mean to tell me that she's been cheating on Malik? I am willing to forgive her for marrying him because at least Malik has been able to change. But to cheat on him with that heartless bastard who would just as soon beat her to death--!"

"I didn't cheat on Malik!" Serenity screamed. "Seto and I didn't do anything!" Granted, she had made out with him on his bed, but that hardly qualified. Not under those conditions. Or did it?

She had wanted to. Oh, but what she would give to have Seto back in her arms, his body within hers. How she missed him. How she loved him.

"Really? Then why is your face all red?" came the retort.

"Why don't you just cool it, Joey?" Mai snapped.

"You don't seem to understand, Mai," Joey began.

"No, it is you who does not understand," his wife interjected. "Maybe Serenity married the wrong guy. Maybe she is cheating on Malik. That's none of our business. Her decisions are her own to make. You need to wake up and face the facts! Serenity no longer needs you to baby her! She is a full grown young woman now and she doesn't have to run to you anymore. Stop trying to run her life for her!!"

Joey stared at Mai with wide eyes, unable to believe that his wife had said such a thing to him. He looked at Serenity, but she refused to meet his gaze. He could see how she was struggling to keep her tears in check.

But a sniffling sound revealed that someone was crying, and Jessica stood in the doorway, rubbing at her tears. "Mommy, why are you and Daddy fighting? It's scawy."

* * *

Azure eyes opened as he stared at his strange surroundings. "Where am I?" he asked out loud, slowly sitting up.

Instantly hands touched his shoulders and began pushing him back down. "You're in Kaiba Corp. Hospital, Seto," a familiar voice explained. "You took quite a nasty fall in your office yesterday."

Kaiba stared hard at the owner of the voice and the hands keeping him in place, the world fuzzy in his unfocused vision. "M-Mokuba?"

The youth smiled, his handsome features beaming. "It's great to see you're awake now," he confirmed, sitting back down and releasing his hold. "How are you feeling?"

"Slightly dizzy," Kaiba replied weakly, raising a hand to his forehead. "I had a dream I was floating in empty space. Nothing existed. Nothing but peace. How long have I been out?"

"Almost an entire day. The maid found you yesterday morning lying unconscious on the floor in your office at the house."

"Figures."

Mokuba's smile faded in concern. "The doctors say your condition was what caused it. That it's becoming worse."

Kaiba snorted softly under his breath. "How fitting."

"Seto--"

"Don't pretend, Mokuba. You know as well as I do the entire truth. But don't worry. This isn't an act of atonement. He murdered me long ago."

Mokuba remained silent.

"If people do have paths they walk, then this is the one I choose. I would not have it any other way."

"Not even for Serenity?"

A small fleeting smile curved Seto's mouth. "As long as she lives happily among those she loves, then my soul will always be at peace."

* * *

The wedding ceremony was held a few months after Mokuba had proposed, as Rebecca wanted to marry him before she delivered their children and before she could really start showing the signs. Though her stomach was indeed noticeably larger, her face puffier due to her five-month pregnancy with triplets of all things, it was nothing her even bigger gown could not hide. Tea was the Maid-of-Honor as the two young women had grown close thanks to their mutual bond with Yugi. A few other girls who were close friends to Rebecca in high school made up the rest of the list of bridesmaids.

Jessica Wheeler was the flower girl. It was a good idea, despite the fact that her father-inherited flamboyancy kept her flinging the petals all over the place until not the aisle but the rest of the church floor itself was covered in pink roses. Not to mention, she fidgeted consistently in her dress, complaining in toddler language that it itched. Mai constantly chided her about something, her hands full in keeping her daughter in line, though Joey was not much help. In fact, he encouraged Jessica's antics. Go figure.

"Joseph, she's in a church. She needs to learn how to behave!" Mai snapped at him.

"She's just a little kid, Mai. Let her have her fun," Joey shot back.

In the end, Mai won the battle as Jessica had gone over the top when she marched right into the men's dressing room as if she owned the place. "TRISTAN, QUIT FLASHING MY DAUGHTER!" Joey screamed as he carried a wide-eyed Jessica back to her mother.

"That's gross, man," Duke commented as he straightened his tie.

"It was not my fault!" Tristan exclaimed with a blush as he pulled his pants up.

While it took the guys only ten minutes on average to prepare, the women took hours, as women do, and Mokuba was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Every possibility of something going wrong had flooded his mind, resulting in him becoming jumpy and snappish. Kaiba, as always, was as calm as the sea on a clear summer day, giving a tiny hint of a smile in amusement as Mokuba ran back and forth double-checking, triple-checking, quadruple-checking everything.

Down to the very last spoon.

Kaiba was sitting out in the hall on a velvet bench, his hands folded across one knee crossed over his other leg. He seemed skinnier in a way if one was too look closely, and paler, too. The shine in his cinnamon hair wasn't as vibrant as it had been years before. His blue eyes were less intense. Even his breathing seemed rougher around the edges.

He looked up when a little form came waddling up to him. Jessica peered up at him with wide brown eyes, her golden hair framing her little face, her chibi-shaped body looking even chibier in the white and pink lace dress she was wearing. It was obvious she hated it, for she kept pulling at a sleeve or the hem.

"Well, if it isn't Wheeler's spawn," Kaiba commented, but his voice held a gentle softness void of any malice.

"Hi," Jessica greeted with a small wave. "What your name?" There was not a shred of shyness in this girl.

"Kaiba," he replied.

"I'm Jessica. Are you Makaba's brudder?"

He chuckled at the cute way she said Mokuba's name. The younger Kaiba would have died on the spot. "Yes, I am."

"Oh. My Daddy says you're a bad man."

"Well, your daddy is an idiot."

"What that?" she inquired innocently.

Kaiba sighed. He really didn't want to hurt this little one's feelings by revealing to her the awful truth about the mutt's lack of intellect. Wasn't her fault her father was the reason alien life forms decided there was no intelligent life on Earth. Besides, she would discover this for herself in due time, anyway.

"Let's just say your father doesn't know me very well," he finally explained.

She giggled. "You're nice."

He blinked in surprise. Well, if wonders never ceased. This was the first time anyone had told him that, especially a little kid. Quite sad, really.

Without any sign of invitation, Jessica climbed onto the bench and settled beside Kaiba. "Do you like Auntie Ren?" she questioned. "Mommy and Auntie Ren talk about you a lot. Daddy no like. He got really mad and yell at Auntie Ren. Then Mommy yell at Daddy. They woke me up at nap time."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. Apparently, the mutt had found out Serenity's feelings for Kaiba and now this little girl had involuntarily gotten involved. This angered Seto for there was no reason Jessica needed to be dragged into this chaos. "Your Auntie Ren is a good woman," he informed her with a smile.

"Have you mooched?"

He cocked a brow. "What?"

"Mooched," she repeated.

"She means did you kiss my sister," came the interpretation.

Jessica and Kaiba looked up as Joey entered the scene. Jessica hung her head as she was sitting with the very man her father did not want her to be around. "Jessica, go to Mommy," Joey commanded. Without her usual protests, Jessica did as she was told. For a moment, Joey watched her scamper off before turning his glare to Kaiba. "Well, you didn't answer the question."

"Yes, I _mooched _Serenity," Kaiba snapped. "But that's as far as it went."

Joey snorted. "You certainly were quick to admit it."

"Why not?"

"You know she's married to someone else."

"Yes, I am well aware of her marriage to Ishtar and quite frankly, I don't give a damn," was the toneless reply.

"Kaiba, you will do anything and hurt anyone to get what you want, won't you?" Joey sneered.

"Wouldn't you do the same?" Kaiba shot back. "And don't tell me you wouldn't. You could never understand the situation I was in."

Joey cocked a brow. "'Was?'"

"It doesn't matter anymore. Soon, she will be able to live her life happily with Malik without me to interfere."

Joey stared. "Why?" he inquired, tilting his head to one side. "You going back to the States or somethin'?"

Kaiba smiled, wishing it could be that easy. "No. I will no longer be able to go there again." Suddenly, he doubled over in a burst of coughing, heavy gagging coughs that Joey had never heard before in his life.

"Kaiba! You okay!?" Joey cried, running to his side. Kaiba took heavy drags of air, only to cough again. "Do you need a doctor? Oh, man, this ain't good. Kaiba!"

Eventually, Seto managed to regain control of himself. He lifted his head a bit, and Joey gasped when he saw flecks of crimson upon Kaiba's lips and running down his hand, the one he used to cover his mouth with. "I-I'm okay," Seto whispered. "I...just need some water is all."

"Liar!" Joey snapped. "You are far from okay. You need help, Kaiba. Stay here. I'll get a doctor or somethin' an--"

"Joey!" Kaiba interrupted, one of the few times that he had ever used the mutt's first name, and Joey stopped dead in mid-sentence when he saw the usual blue-eyed death glare. "I have already been to the hospital. They already know what is wrong with me. There is nothing you can do. There is nothing anyone can do." With that, the CEO stood to his feet and staggered into the nearest bathroom.

Joey could only sit there, breathing heavily. Hadn't Serenity and Mai said something about Kaiba...being too stubborn to die? Was that it? Was Kaiba dying?

Even during the wedding ceremony, this haunted him. He couldn't take his eyes off Kaiba as the dragon stood there as the Best Man for his brother's wedding. Mokuba fidgeted slightly as the organ played. Jessica came skipping down the aisle--yes, skipping--throwing rose petals every which way. The guests chuckled and Mai rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath about a "chibi Joey". Tea and the other bridesmaids followed, settling themselves at the alter from across the guys. Then the guests stood as the music changed to "Here Comes the Bride" and Rebecca stepped out escorted by Arthur Hawkings. She was blushing brightly, emerald eyes shining as she held Mokuba's gaze. The groom looked utterly lost and glad of it.

Serenity sighed. Everything was just so moving and beautiful. Especially Seto. How handsome he looked in his suit and tie, standing beside his brother, tall and straight-backed, everything about him held in elegance and dignity.

Malik glanced at his wife and noticed that she seemed concentrated on something. He followed her gaze to land smack-dab on Kaiba. His eyes narrowed.

Interesting...

The entire ceremony seemed like blur. Kaiba could the impatience etched in Mokuba's face. The young colt was on the verge of screaming "GET ON WITH IT!!!" and hurry up and exchange rings and vows and kiss the bride already.

Rebecca felt the same. No wonder people weren't getting married anymore.

Finally, their ears were graced with the words "you may kiss the bride". Heart thundering, Mokuba lifted her veil and shyly pressed his lips against hers. A cheer went up through the crowd as their kiss grew deeper and they finally pulled away breathlessly. Mokuba grabbed Rebecca's hands and they ran down the aisle. Guests threw rice at them as they got into the limo that would take them to the reception.

* * *

Chaos had erupted in the kitchen. While the guests were waiting for the meal to start, conversing to occupy their time, the chefs and waiters were frazzled.

Apparently someone had broken into the dish room and stolen all the spoons.

Thankfully, they were able to get some backups, and soon the banquet began. Cutting the cake, feeding it to each other and all that good stuff. Serenity thought she had never seen the young couple look so happy before.

After dinner, people went down to the floor below to dance. Mokuba and Rebecca started the first dance and soon other couples followed suit. Slow songs played, dance songs, rock, great hits, great classics, almost everything in the book. About two hours later, Malik left Serenity on her own to tend to bathroom business. She stood at the railing on the second floor overlooking the dancing when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned and looked into the bright eyes of Seto Kaiba.

"May I have this dance?" he inquired softly.

She nodded and allowed him to lead her to the floor.

_What am I supposed to do with all these blues _

_Haunting me _

_Everywhere _

_no matter what I do? _

_Watching the candle flicker out _

_In the evening glow_

_I can't let go_

_When will the night be over? _

_I didn't mean to fall in love with you_

_And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through_

_It isn't love_

_It's robbery_

_I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me_

Serenity closed her eyes as she felt Kaiba gently press her body against his. She buried her face in his chest and he nuzzled her hair, breathing in her scent deeply. They swayed back and forth in a tender rhythm, his arms encircling her waist tightly.

_Seen a lot of broken hearts go sailing by_

_Phantom ships_

_Lost at sea_

_Oh, one of them is mine_

_Raising my glass I sing a toast_

_To the midnight sky_

_I wonder why_

_The stars don't' seem to guide me_

_I didn't mean to fall in love with you_

_And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through_

_It isn't love_

_It's robbery_

_I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me_

"Seto," she breathed when their faces touched each other's. He sighed deeply, holding her closer still, moaning softly when he felt his leg slide in between her thighs. "...nnn...Seto..."

"I need you, Serenity," he whispered, hearing a heart pounding wildly, not sure if it was hers, his own, or both. "Now more than ever."

_The ghost of you and me_

_When will it set me free?_

_I hear the voices call_

_Following footsteps down the hall_

_Trying to save of what's left of my heart and soul_

_Watching the candle flicker out_

_In the evening glow_

_I can't let go_

_When will the night be over? _

_I didn't mean to fall in love with you_

_And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through_

_It isn't love_

_It's robbery_

_I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me_

He tenderly kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Seto, we-we can't..." she protested but it was becoming less and less so.

"Who cares about what everyone else thinks?" he whispered against her lips. "Kiss me, Serenity. I need you to kiss me again."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before they closed and she felt her lips meet his in a passionate embrace.

_(I didn't mean to fall....)_

_I didn't mean to fall in love with you_

_(..in love)_

_And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through_

_(There's a name for what you put me through)_

_It isn't love_

_(It isn't love)_

_It's robbery_

_(It isn't love)_

_I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me_

_(I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me...)_

_I didn't mean to fall in love with you_

_And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through_

_(There's a name for all the things you do)_

_It isn't love_

_(It isn't love)_

_It's robbery_

_(It isn't love)_

_I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me..._

The song ended, and Seto and Serenity pulled away, breathless, hot, and wanting more. "Serenity," he whispered. "I know it's wrong. Beyond wrong. And I don't care. I don't give a rat's ass about the ethics of all this crap. I know what I want, and I want you. And I want you now."

"I want you, too, Seto," she whispered, still faint from their kiss. "More than anything. I love you."

He cupped her face in his hands, pressing his forehead against hers. How long had he waited for her to say those words to him? "Serenity," he said again, this time his voice strained from pent up emotions. "Be with me tonight. Say you're staying at Mai's house or something. Do anything you can. But be with me tonight."

"I will," she answered before kissing him again. Then, she followed him off the floor to go find Mai and give Mokuba last minute congratulations. The lovers just couldn't wait for each other any longer.

Someone had been watching them that whole time. He stood there, clinging to the railing until his knuckles were bone white, watching the romantic exchange between Seto and Serenity, lilac purple eyes wide with horrified disbelief.

* * *

Yes, another cliffhanger. But I already have the next and last chapter written and ready to go. Not to mention the first chapter of the sequel. I was up until 4 AM this morning writing. I know this seems really fast, but I just want to get this story over and done with. When a story extends over a course of several months, and many, many more plotbunnies are pounding you, you just gotta write what you need and move on.

Yup! Next chapter is the last! Please review. I'll post faster if you do. Because it's all ready written and ready to go. waves last chapter in your face


	9. Here's to the Night

No notes today. I save them for the sequel. But here it is. The last chapter. All I have to say is, bring out the tissues. Trust me. You're gonna need them.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

**Here's to the Night**

The punching bag bounced violently as Malik delivered blow after blow into it, imagining a certain blue-eyed dragon's face being his real target. He had become quite the boxer over the years, though it was something he did in his free-time, not something he competed in.

"You're going to end up breaking that thing," Ryou observed gently as he placed the tray of tea and sandwiches on the table. "Take a rest, Malik. I made us lunch." It was the next day after the wedding ceremony, and Malik had arrived to take out his anger on something inanimate before he ended up turning into Yami no Malik again and try to destroy everything. Serenity did not come home last night, nor had she returned that morning. Malik called up Mai, who claimed that Serenity wanted to stay over there and spend some quality time with her brother. Had Malik not witnessed what he did last night, he would have believed her, like the blind fool he was.

Malik took off the gloves and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel. "I'm not hungry," he stated.

"You must eat something."

Malik cocked a brow at Ryou. "You're just everyone's den mother, aren't you?"

Ryou simply smiled. "Someone has to keep an eye on you people. Plus, you all have been there for me; Yugi, Joey, Tea, Serenity, even you. I suppose this is my way for repaying this debt I owe."

Malik plopped down on a chair. "You're just being nice to me because you're infatuated with my sister."

Ryou's smile seemed to grow wider, and there was a tinge of pink in his pale cheeks.

"Sometimes I think that demonic rabbit is rubbing off on you," Malik observed.

"Well, without the Sennen Ring, there is really nothing much he can do anymore. I let him out from time to time to let him wear off his cabin fever." He glanced around at Bakura's new spoon collection in the basement they were sitting in and laughed softly. "But I'm the one in control now. He hates it, but that's just something he'll have to live with." Ryou took a sip of his tea and sighed. "I had the option of getting rid of him forever, but that is something I cannot do. I hate him for the pain he has caused, but at the same time he is a part of me. And I am a part of him. We are one, neither of us able to survive without the other. We are two sides of the same person." He turned large, wise brown eyes to Malik. "Like you. You will never be rid of him, Malik. He is a part of you, of your soul, and will always be with you. The stronger part of him has been extinguished, but he is still within you."

"Don't remind me," Malik snapped with a slight shiver. Though he will never be strong enough to make his presence clearly known ever again, Malik could still feel the essence of his Yami within himself. Always there. Always watching. He will never die. Never go away. Not unless Malik himself was destroyed. As Rishid had kept Yami no Malik from surfacing, so Serenity had managed to suppress that horrible memory, the nightmare that plagued Malik's dreams. She kept his mind from slipping back into the shadows with the shining light of her love.

To lose her, would mean to go back to what he was once again, and that was something he just couldn't do.

"She is in love with another," Malik whispered.

Ryou set his tea down in dead concern. "How do you know this?" he inquired.

"I can sense it within her. Even when I make love to her, she thinks of another. It's hopeless, Ryou. I tried to be a good husband. I did everything I can for her."

"Her heart is her own. No deeds you do can change the path she has chosen."

Malik slammed his fists down on the table. "Then why the fuck did she marry me in the first place!?"

Ryou shrugged. "Many things. Compassion, perhaps she still holds much love for you, perhaps she thought her true love would never love her back. I cannot say for certain. But she doesn't strike me as the type who married you for the sake of marriage. Not her."

Malik sighed deeply, running his fingers through his long bangs. "I just don't understand where I went wrong. I wished she would just come out and tell me instead of keeping it as a secret. We promised to never keep secrets from each other! How could I have been so blind, Ryou!? So fucking BLIND!?!?!"

"Any idea who the other man might be?" Ryou asked tenderly.

The lavander lightning sparking in his eyes answered Ryou's question for him. "I do," Malik snarled. "It's Kaiba."

Ryou's brows shot up. "Really? Kaiba? Oh, dear. It all makes sense now."

"She has been acting different ever since he came back. I know it's him. I saw the two of them making out last night at the wedding reception. Then she ran off with him and has yet to return." He snorted. "I can only imagine what they've been doing."

"Do you plan to prosecute him?"

There was a moment of silence.

"In all honesty," Malik answered in a soft tone, "as much as I would love to rip that bastard's heart out and hang him by his bowels, I cannot hurt him. To hurt him would hurt Serenity, and I will do nothing to inflict pain upon her. I spare Kaiba, for Serenity's sake." His eyes flashed as he glared at Ryou. "But only for her sake."

* * *

_So tonight_

_So I lied_

_Are you the now or never kind?_

_In a day_

_In a day, love_

_I'm gonna be gone for good again_

_Are you willing to be had_

_Are you cool with just tonight?_

_Here's a toast_

_To all those who hear me all to well_

_Here's to the nights we felt alive_

_Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry_

_Here's to goodbye_

_Tomorrow's gonna come too soon_

* * *

Serenity moved, feeling that warm body beside hers. Seto still slept, his head nuzzled against her collarbone, his arms wrapped around her tiny frame. She stroked his face, wanting the moment to last, wanting to stay here forever just to watch him sleep. He was so beautiful when he was asleep.

What time was it?

She glanced over at the clock and nearly jumped out of the covers. Holy crappage, it was going on 2:30 in the afternoon! Malik was probably throwing a fit! Mai couldn't possibly keep holding her cover for long.

Oh, but she didn't want to leave. Not now. Not yet.

Seto was so still when he slept. Unlike her. She probably kicked him a few times.

She kissed his forehead, remembering last night. It felt like a dream, yet this morning proved the reality of it all. She and Seto had made love countless times, unable to get enough of each other, to the point where both of them were too exhausted to even move. She remembered screaming his name in her pleasure, how their bodies moved in raptured ecstasy. She had never felt anything like this before, not even with Malik. Seto made her feel complete, made her feel the most stronger. She thrived in his dominance in bed, the same kind she had first felt on Kaiba Craft 3 seven years ago when they both had been inexperienced virgins.

She frowned. If only she had the courage back then to show her true feelings to Seto. Then they would have been able to spend those seven years together, instead of wasting them in the agony of being apart. Serenity never thought she'd ever regret marrying Malik, and now she did. As much as she loved Malik, too, she loved Seto more, much much more. Malik had made her world beautiful, but Seto had made it complete. Better to feel complete in an ugly world, than feel empty in a beautiful one.

"Seto..." Serenity breathed shaking him gently.

He didn't stir.

Her frown deepened. "Seto?" But he wasn't moving, just laying there, as if...as if...

"Seto!" She began shaking him rather roughly now, her voice shaking in alarm. No, oh, God, please no, no, no, no... "Seto, wake up! Please, wake up! Seto...!"

"..Nnn, what?" he groaned, eyes opening and staring up at her. "What is it?" he asked more awake as he sat up. "Something wrong?"

Serenity was breathing heavily now, staring at him widely. "I...I thought..." She couldn't finish but he figured what she was implying.

"Oh." He smiled. "Sorry. I forgot to tell you, I'm a really heavy sleeper. Extremely. You actually caught me in one of my more minor moments. Otherwise, even shaking me and screaming at the top of your lungs wouldn't have any effect. You see..." Here he paused and blushed slightly, "...I have a confession to make. I'm a narcoleptic."

Serenity's jaw dropped in utter shock. She figured if Kaiba indeed had some kind of sleeping disorder, her first guess would have been insomnia but... "Narcolepsy?" she choked.

Seto nodded. "I have a medication that keep my attacks down to a minimum, which is why I am usually locked up in my office all the time, so nobody can see my head crash face first on my desk and I start snoring for no reason. This is also why I don't drive. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I could have a narcoleptic attack and crash. And when I actually do go to bed and sleep, I instantly go into Stage IV of the sleep cycle, skipping the first three stages completely."

She continued to stare. She couldn't believe it. "I-I'm sorry," she apologized after a moment. "I just..."

"Can't believe it?" He grinned. "Yeah, you not the only one who hardly sees me as the type of person who would have narcolepsy. But I do. It used to make Gozaburo so mad..." He trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. Then he shook his head, and smiled at her again. "Well, looks like day by day, you are finding out just how imperfect of a mortal I be. I might have to kill you to keep from talking."

"NO!" Serenity playfully cried, as Seto tackled her and began tickling her sides.

_He smiles a lot more now, _she thought. _And he seems so much more gentle than ever before. _It made her wonder.

* * *

She told him everything.

Answered all his questions.

He simply sat there, staring out of the window. It was open, the breeze of that night running its fingers through his sand-blonde hair. After being with Seto last night, there was no avoiding telling Malik the truth any longer. Serenity cursed herself. Despite the devastating pain of all this, she should've had the guts to tell him all this long ago. It would have been less painful for the both of them. Malik had revealed to her that he had seen their kiss at the reception. She had never intended for him to witness her adultery, and so she felt heavily responsible for everything.

What a spineless whore she had been.

"So, as I suspected it was him you loved this whole time."

"Yes," Serenity confirmed.

"At least he made good use of my Sennen Rod," Malik commented dryly. "And you married me to forget him?"

She bit her lower lip. "Yes," she whispered. "But I do love you."

"You just love him more," he finished.

Silence.

"Yes."

He looked at her deeply, before a small laugh escaped him. "As much as I hate being the second choice, it is more than I deserve. As pathetic as this sounds, even if you had a whole harem of Kaibas, I would still be completely and devoted to you."

She blinked at him, not understanding.

"However," he continued, and his lavender eyes turned dark and cold. "I cannot be married to someone who does not love me in return. Call it my damned pride if you will, but everyday, the pain increases when I know it is _he _you are thinking of. You understand, don't you?"

He took his wedding ring off and it made a tiny tink sound when he placed it on the coffee table.

"I am asking for a separation. Whether this will lead to divorce or not, I don't know. You may keep the apartment to do with what you desire. I will be moving back with my sister before finding my own accommodations."

She said nothing, taking the ring in her hands and watching as the golden band sparkled in the light. She never felt so numb.

"I will always be there for you, Serenity," he added softly. "No matter what. I am sorry that the paths we have chosen were not the same. I am sorry that our marriage turned out to be nothing but a lie. Had I known of this pain, I never would have proposed."

"Malik--" she whispered, but he was finished, and disappeared into the bedroom to pack his things.

* * *

_Put your name on the line_

_Along with place and time_

_Wanna stay_

_Not to go_

_I wanna ditch the logical_

_Here's a toast_

_To all those who hear me all too well_

_Here's to the nights we'd felt alive_

_Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry_

_Here's to goodbye _

_Tomorrow's gonna come too soon_

* * *

_"Sir, you need to calm down," _the voice instructed softly on the other end of the phone.

"Calm down!?" Mokuba shrieked. "Calm down!?!?!?! My wife is going into labor!!! With triplets, lady!! TRIPLETS!!!! And she's only eight months pregnant!!!!!" He was practically pulling at his hair now. It was currently cropped to his shoulders, so he couldn't do _too much _damage.

_"She's very young to be having triplets, sir. Even if she were in a more older age, premature labor with multiple fetuses is common." _

"So, you're saying that--"

_"I'm saying that your wife is going to be fine. An ambulance is on it's way. Now please calm down." _

Mokuba groaned in frustration, pacing back and forth. Rebecca sat on the couch, breathing heavily as her labor contractions continued. If this was another false labor, she was going to disembowel Mokuba with her bare hands! Only three months married or not. Fuck, this HURT!!!

Still, she needed him near her. "M-m-mokuba!" she cried, panic beginning to swell within her. What if something went wrong? What if it was too soon and the babies would be suffering with internal complications or worse...

A gentle hand resting on her face. Mokuba was still on the phone with the 911 receptionist, but concentrated completely on her. "It's okay," he whispered softly. "You're going to be all right, Rebecca. The babies, too. Everything's going to be fine."

She clung to his hand, desperately praying he was right.

* * *

Serenity had known all along about Seto's infection, but she didn't think it was too serious. Seto was doing great from what she had seen, and she believed they had seen the worst of his condition. He could only get better.

How wrong she was.

They were out walking about the streets of Domino, peering into various windows. She was eating a chocolate-mint icecream cone while Seto sipped on a latte. They were holding hands, like a couple of school children. More than several passerbyers and shoppers peered at them, wondering with amazement who Seto Kaiba's girlfriend was. Serenity didn't understand why someone as reclusive as Kaiba was being so open with his feelings, however, she did not question him. He was acting like a completely changed man. It was amazing.

She had thought they were simply meandering the streets for no particular reason, doing the first thing that came to their minds, until Serenity realized that Seto acted as if he were going to a specific destination. He didn't look at the other stores like she did. Just simply charged on ahead.

"Seto, where are we going?" she finally asked unable to take the suspense.

He grinned boyishly. "You'll see."

Finally, they reached a street where the more expensive shops were located, and Seto nodded at one building. "Here we are."

Serenity gawked when she discovered it was Aphrodite Gems and Jewelry, one of the most expensive jewelers in the entire world. Everything in that place was specially hand-made so every order had to be made specifically and in advance. The shop in itself was tiny and there were only four in existence, its original spot in Athens, Greece, and then Sweden, America, and right here in Domino.

"Seto..." she started to protest.

"Come on," he urged, gently pulling her in. The tiny bell on the door rang musically as they walked inside.

Serenity gasped when she saw the countless jewels on display; Sapphire earrings, garnet rings, pearl and ruby necklaces, pure gold bracelets and silver watches, emerald stones beyond worth. But unlike these other jewelry stores, these particular pieces had already been bought and paid for, simply waiting for the buyers to come pick them up, displayed only to show walk-ins like Seto and Serenity a tiny fraction of what the store had to offer.

What Serenity didn't know...yet...was that Kaiba wasn't just a walk-in.

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba," the saleswoman behind the counter greeted warmly. "Your order is ready."

"Right on schedule," Kaiba replied.

Serenity turned in surprise. Order?

The woman, who was of Swedish origin in her mid-fifties with gorgeous raven hair with streaks of silver pulled up in a tight bun, noticed Serenity and smiled. "Is she the lucky one I take it?" she questioned, her accent as smooth-flowing and soothing as the incense that burned in the atmosphere of this cozy building.

Kaiba nodded and the woman handed him a small bag. He cleared his throat, and she took the hint, exiting to the back room and leaving the two of them alone. Kaiba took something out of the bag, something Serenity couldn't see, though she desperately wanted to. Then he crinkled up the bag and tossed it in the garbage.

She tilted her head. "Seto?"

He took her hand in his and fiddled around with it for a moment, humming a small random tune.

"Well, what did you buy?"

"Huh?"

She sighed. "I wanna know what you bought."

He shrugged. "It was nothing. Just a piece of jewelry."

"Who's it for?"

A smile curved on his lips. "Someone very, very special to me," he whispered and released her hand.

She stared at him before looking down when something gleamed in the corner of her eye. She nearly fainted on the spot. It was more the gorgeous glitter of the sapphire stone, but the fact that the stone was actually an eye, an eye belonging to the head of a silver Blue-Eyes White Dragon ring wrapped around her engagement finger. She stared at it for a long moment, afraid it would vanish should she look away. Finally, she lifted her eyes to Seto, still smiling that small smile.

"I'm not one for fancy proposals, plus I'm pressed for time, anyway," he admitted. "Everything I want to say now, I've already said and did. The fact I've been waiting for that ring for the past six months confirms all I want to say, though I admit, I never thought I was going to use it as an engagement ring. However, I will say this. You'd better get your divorce from Ishtar finalized quick because I am not about to let you get arrested for becoming a bigamist."

Tears formed in Serenity's eyes. She had no idea what to say. So she flung herself in Seto's arms.

For a moment, he held her tightly to him. Then his body when suddenly stiff as a rod. She pulled away, staring up at him in concern. His face was ashen, and a trickled of sweat ran from his brow. "Seto...?"

"S-stay here," he groaned in a tight voice before rushing outside. In usual Wheeler rebelliousness, she ran after him in time to see him clinging to the wall of the building as he struggled forward to a reclusive spot. "Seto!" Serenity exclaimed, racing to his side.

He said nothing, but groaned loudly in agony as he clutched his stomach with both arms, doubling over at the waist. Then his upper body gave a violent lurch as he opened his mouth and vomited. But instead of stomach fluid, it was globs of thick, black blood.

* * *

_All my time is full in motion_

_Can't I stay an hour or two or more_

_Don't let me let you go_

_Don't let me let you go..._

* * *

A few days later, Serenity decided to visit Seto at the hospital. Mokuba had given her permission to leave work to do so.

Seto was sitting in bed reading a book when she entered. "Hello," she greeted softly as he regarded her coolly from over the top of his book. "Are you feeling all right?"

"What are you doing here, Serenity?" he asked tonelessly.

Serenity frowned. "I wanted to see that you were okay. Mokuba told me how you were doing, but I had to see for myself."

Seto closed his book and placed it on the table beside him. "You shouldn't have come here," he declared.

"But I had to see you," Serenity protested. "I couldn't stay away. Not from you."

"It can't be like this," he pointed out. "Despite our feelings for each other, you have a husband and your feelings should be reserved for him alone."

"What? Malik and I are separated now!"

"Your divorce is not finalized. Therefore he is still your husband."

"I show my feelings to whom I choose," Serenity shot back. "And I chose you."

He sighed, releasing his breath out in a heavy exhale. "Why, Serenity? Because you and I happened to have really good sex one night, now all of a sudden you can't live without me?"

"I loved you even before that."

"What is there to love?"

"Plenty."

"Really now?"

"Yes!"

"Prove it."

Serenity looked away, unable to give him a reasonable answer. "You can't prove something like that."

Seto snorted. "Thought so."

Her head snapped up and she glared at him. "If I recall correctly, I was perfectly content the way things were until you showed up out of nowhere, begging for me to come back to you. And now that I have, you act just like you did after that night; that you wanted nothing more to do to me."

He laughed then, and she continued to glare at him, unable to understand his humor. "Ironic, isn't it?" he chuckled. "I felt the same way when you asked me not to tell anyone about what we did. I was just simply granting your request. If I pretended I wanted nothing more to do with you, then you would forget about me and go about your merry way. However, I admit, I was infuriated when I found out you and Ishtar were married. I felt used, and came back to seek revenge I guess. Instead, what started as a simple act of revenge turned into something completely different."

"Seto..."

He caught and held her gaze with his own. "I love you even more so now than when I first laid eyes on you when you boarded my craft. I thought you were the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. I ignored you out of cowardice, afraid that to so much as speak to you would shatter all my defenses. And they are shattered. For it was you who caused me to feel again. It was you who opened my eyes to what life really is. And it is because of you, that I am able to think of someone other than myself."

By this time, Serenity had approached the side of his bed. She took his hand in hers, stroking the long fingers delicately. His hands were rough, not the smooth flesh of the prestigious like himself, but covered with small calluses, the skin underneath perfectly manicured nails scarred and broken. So many scars. So many wounds continuously being reopened. Just how much pain did this man suffer on a daily basis?

She lifted the hand until it was touching her cheek, and he gently rubbed her face. For a long moment, the two of them were still, saying nothing, savoring the moment and the proximity of each other.

Now, Serenity had her answer. It may be wrong, but it was there just the same. "I love you, Seto Kaiba," she whispered hoarsely, new tears forming. "I didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as I do you, but it is. I love you."

He pulled his hand away, sighing again. "And have you told Malik this?"

She shook her head. "Yes. And I have never been so sure in my life than I am right now."

"You do realize how much this has hurt him, don't you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Since when did his feelings matter to you? I thought the great, all-powerful Seto Kaiba didn't care for the feelings of others just as long as he got what he wanted."

It was Kaiba's turn to glare. "I never said I was looking out for his feelings, Serenity. I'm looking out for yours."

"What does Malik have to do with it?"

"He's your husband. Shouldn't he have everything to do with it?"

"Seto, have you gone mad?" Serenity exclaimed. "Here we are confessing our love for each other, and then all of a sudden you bring up Malik! Malik isn't even here. What is the point in all of this!?"

"I just want to be sure that you will be able to live a happy life with no regrets," Kaiba replied very, very softly.

"Live a happy life!" she cried. "Seto, you've gone crazy! Look!" Serenity held up the Blue-Eyes engagement ring. "You proposed to me three days ago, Seto! We're getting married! Now, you're acting as though that never happened. As if you changed your mind." She stopped when he made no protest to ease her suspicions. "You did change your mind, didn't you?"

He said nothing. That was enough of a confirmation for her.

"Why!?!" she exclaimed. "I thought you loved me!"

"I do," he replied softly, not looking at her. "And I want nothing more than for you to marry me. But that was before...before I realized..." He stopped, his voice fading.

Serenity paused, the ascended silence seeming to stretch for eternity.

"Seto, what's going on?" she asked slowly, forcing the words out. "There's more to this than just wanting me happy." The more she talked, the more she began to suspect. "What's wrong with you, Seto? What did the doctors say?"

Kaiba sat there for a minute, perfectly still. "I am 23 years old now. If I am extremely lucky, I will live to see 24. ONLY if I am extremely lucky."

Serenity stumbled backwards, mouth hanging open. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry or scream, so she just stood there. "Y-you're lying!" she choked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The infection caused by the scars on my back has spread too deeply, and there is no cure. All I have are medications that simply prolong my life. However, my body is becoming immune to them because I've been taking them for so long. My days have been numbered. It's only a matter of time. I can die in the next five years...or the next five minutes." There was no tone in his voice to give away his feelings. He delivered the facts as indifferently as presenting a composition paper.

Serenity was shaking her head vigorously. "No. No, this can't be. It's not true, Seto!"

"Can you and I really make a life together, Serenity?" Seto demanded. "Have children only to watch their father die at a young age? Or to not know their father at all? No. I would not put any child through that. Especially your children. I know what it is like to remember the day your father dies. I remember the funeral, how it rained on that dark day, diamond drops sparkling off the flowers placed upon his casket. To know that the last time you saw your father's face was when he was lying in his coffin, eyes forever closed, forever at peace. Is that something you really want, Serenity? Live a few years, weeks, days of bliss with me, only to face the rest of a lifetime of death? I'll probably die before our wedding for all I know. Is that really what you want?"

With a sob, Serenity flung herself in Kaiba's arms, crying into his chest. "I just want to be with you, Seto! That's all I want!"

"You would risk leaving Malik and forever being alone?"

"YES!"

Kaiba pushed Serenity away, staring intensely into her eyes. "Tell me, Serenity, why did you marry Malik? If not for love, then what?"

"I felt sorry for him," she replied.

"Did you? Or is that some lie your consciousness cooked up just to justify your feelings for me?"

"I couldn't stop thinking of you after all these years!"

"So, you married him?"

Serenity snapped. "I married him so I could forget you!" she screamed.

Kaiba sat back, a soft smile curving his lips. Serenity saw the point he just made, and she gasped in realization. "Yes, Serenity," he confirmed. "You married him to forget me. To give your love for me to someone else. It would have worked, but unfortunately it didn't. Why? Because deep down, all that time, you knew that one day I will be coming back." His smile faded. "But next time I leave, I won't be coming back."

He tenderly lifted her chin with his fingers. "Serenity," he breathed. "This is the most painful thing I have ever done. But leave. Go back to Malik. Love him with all your heart as he loves you. He needs you. I don't. You deserve to have children, live a long and happy life with your husband. Loving him will be much easier once I am gone for good."

"You're not going to die, Seto," she cried. "You're not going to die! You're not going to die!!"

He held her close in his arms. "I'm sorry."

Serenity shoved away from him. "No! I won't believe it! You're going to get better. That infection will go away. You'll see. You're going to get well again. Do you hear me! You're going to get well!!"

Her loud commotion caused the doctor to run in. "Miss, I suggest you calm down or I must ask you to leave the room," he chided softly.

Serenity leaped to her feet, her amber eyes blazing with rage. "What the hell kind of disgusting place is this!? Telling people that they're going to die! He's not going to die! Tell Seto that he's not going to die!"

"Miss, please..."

"HE'S NOT GOING TO DIE!!!"

"S-Serenity..." Kaiba pleaded. His breath was coming out in short, ragged breaths now.

"Nurse!" the doctor called, and right on cue, a small woman rushed in to aide the patient by placing an oxygen mask on his face.

Serenity turned and seemed to see Kaiba for the first time. His skin was very pale, almost death-like. The once blazing fires in those azure orbs have now dimmed to mere flickers of light. The cinnamon shine in his hair had vanished to a dull brown. How had she not noticed this before? The evidence of his draining life were all around her this whole time.

She groaned, doubling over and clutching her stomach. It was true. How could she have been so blind? He had been dying before her eyes since he had come back from the States, since his stepfather had whipped him to near-death.

She slipped to her knees, the world becoming completely out of focus. She felt a pair of hands gently help her to feet and lead her out of the room and down the hall.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Mokuba asked nervously.

"Like shit," came the reply as Rebecca lay there on the hospital bed, doctors and nurses digging through her guts as they performed the c-section on her body to deliver the triplets. Rebecca herself was so doped up, Mokuba almost didn't need to be there and she wouldn't notice the difference. "Three screaming brats, can you believe it?"

The rest of the gang sat outside, biting at their nails in wait for the news; Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Duke, Joey, Mai with Jessica, and Serenity. Kaiba was home, bedridden, waiting by the phone to ring so he could know right away how things went. Soon, they were answered by the sound of not one, but three babies crying loudly, taking their first breaths of life. A cheer went up among the small crowd. Already news reporters were flocked outside, waiting with fevered impatience. The phone in Kaiba's own hospital room on the floor above Rebecca's rang, and Seto smiled through his inner pain at Mokuba's excited voice, congratulating him on being an uncle.

Ten minutes later, a nurse wheeled Kaiba down to the incubators and he was left with Mokuba. "Which three are yours?" he asked softly staring at the tiny faces sleeping peacefully.

"There," Mokuba replied pointing. Sure enough, three babies lain in their incubators side by side two blue tags and a pink tag with the last name 'Kaiba' on them.

"Two boys and a girl, eh?" Seto remarked. He smiled. "You really are going to have your hands full, kid."

Mokuba grinned. "And I couldn't be happier."

Two nurses came out carrying the infants, and a boy was placed in Seto's arms. "That's Kira," Mokuba pointed out. "The other boy is Kevin, and the girl is Kari."

Little Kira stirred in Seto's arms, and opened his eyes, which were as a vivid blue as his uncle's. He stretched, his tiny mouth opened in a yawn and he scooted closer to Kaiba's warmth to go back to sleep. Seto held him delicately, staring down at the tiny babe, a rage of emotions surging within him. A tiny tear slipped involuntarily down his face. He would never have children, hold them in his arms like this. He would never see his niece and nephews grow up with the undying Kaiba spirit. And yet...holding Kira in his arms was far more than he could ever ask for. The deepest feeling of peace and contentment washed over him. Despite the many mistakes he had made, the many regrets he had, he did indeed, in this single moment, lived a full life.

"Something wrong, Seto?" Mokuba inquired.

Seto looked up at Mokuba and the two brothers smiled at each other. Mokuba did not need to be told in words. He knew that his brother was dying and would die at any given moment. It was the deep brotherly bond that they shared, and Mokuba honored his brother by not saying a word.

* * *

_Here's a toast _

_To all those who hear me all too well_

_Here's to the nights we felt alive_

_Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry_

_Here's to goodbye_

_Tomorrow's gonna come too soon_

_Too soon_

* * *

"I'm not sure what to call it," Serenity admitted as she sat on the park bench staring up at the falling cherry blossoms swirling around her like snow. "Or even if it is a boy or a girl."

"I'm sure a name will come to you soon," Kaiba replied as he sat beside her. He was in a wheelchair, too weak to walk. Something that irked him to no end, but there was really nothing he could do about it. Unless he wanted to consistently crash face-first to the ground every two steps.

"Do you have any ideas?" she inquired, her head tilted curiously.

Seto shrugged, smirking. "You could name it after me."

Her hand ran over her swelling womb holding the babe within. "And if it's a girl?"

"Setoian?" he suggested with a grin.

She crinkled up her nose playfully. "What a terrible name."

"I think it's original," he defended poorly. "What does Malik say?"

Her playful spirit vanished. "Well, he says it's up to me. As you know, we've been separated for the past several months now."

"Are you getting a divorce?"

"I don't know."

They continued to watch the cherry blossoms dance upon the wind as the last rays of the sun shone behind them. The breeze was starting to become chilly, so Serenity scooted as close to Seto as she could. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her forehead a tender kiss. "I love you, Serenity," Seto whispered softly as she began to doze on his shoulder. "Always."

"Mmm.." Serenity murmured as she began to sink in blissful dreams of her beloved Seto.

* * *

_Here's to the nights we felt alive_

_Here's the tears you knew you'd cry_

_Here's to goodbye_

_Tomorrow's gonna come too soon_

* * *

Serenity slowly awoke when she felt chilly. The sun was barely a golden line behind he mountains. Crap, how long had she been asleep? Well, she would have to go home, now. Joey and Mai would be worried. "We'd better go, Seto," she announced. He didn't reply. He was leaning against her and sleeping as well. She smiled. Oh, right, that narcolepsy thing. According to Seto and how deep he slept, he would be out for the rest of the night. Good thing he was in a wheelchair. He could sleep on without disturbance. Looks like she'll have to call up Mokuba to come get them.

Her amber eyes shining with love, she brushed a strand of brown hair from his face. She frowned a moment later when her nerves picked up on something that wasn't right. "Seto, your skin feels so cold," she remarked. She would have to get him a blanket or something. He shouldn't be out here if it made him...

Wait...

Her fingers brushed against his icy lips, but instead of feeling breath on her skin, she felt nothing. His chest did not move, as he was no longer breathing. Her fingers drifted down the still skin to rest over his heart, but no beat could she feel against her palm. "S-Seto..." she breathed but she knew that he would not answer. Narcolepsy was not what had struck him this time.

A tear dropped on his lifeless hand from her eye. She clung to the still fingers as another tear escaped and made a trail down the empty flesh. A slight breeze stirred, the deceased strands of once vibrant cinnamon hair dancing on the zephyr, but only caused by the wind, not because of the life that once stirred within.

The wind grew, and it felt as though an invisible hand was wiping her tears away. She turned her amber eyes up at the swirling cherry blossoms. Amongst the petals, she could almost see his smiling face, gracing her for one last time, before they raced up into the atmosphere and vanished from view. In their stead, there was a cloud illuminated with the red and gold of the last rays of the sun, the cloud itself resembling the shape of a dragon, it's wings spread and neck stretched out as if it were taking off into flight.

"G-goodbye, Seto," she whispered, then took his body in her arms, mourning softly as she held him for one last time, the blossoms continuing to rain softly in a silent requiem around them.

* * *

Not the end....


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

****

* * *

The sun shone brightly on that day, however Serenity could not see its brightness through her veil. The preacher went on and on about his good points, but he would never know him like Serenity did. The organ played a slow mournful tune as one by one, friends and associates passed by the casket to pay their last respects. Even Joey was tearful and the 6-month-old triplets were silent.

"At least he lived his life to the fullest in the end," Tea whispered, and Serenity could see her tears fall from her own azure eyes. Yugi held her tightly by the waist, offering what comfort he could, crimson orbs red from crying.

Serenity was the last to leave the church while everyone else filed out to the grave site. She stood there alone, staring into the casket. His eyes were closed in peaceful bliss of death, his lips partially open, brown hair neatly combed. It looked as though he were sleeping, not gone forever. That soon he would wake as from a dream, and smile at her once more.

Even now, there was a slight smile on his face, the truest of smiles he had ever given. As she stared at him, Serenity remembered a few days ago when she went into the Kaiba Mansion to consult Mokuba soon after his brother's death.

_"Come here, there's something I have to show you," Mokuba whispered to her. _

_He led her up to the fourth floor, one of which Kaiba never allowed anyone to go. It was old, crumbling, broken, having never been tended to in years. Mokuba opened a door, and Serenity had to choke back her scream of horror. _

_Huge brown marks stained the walls, spots flecking the peeling paper as if a blood-bath party had occurred within this room. "This was where Seto received those scars from Gozaburo," Mokuba explained softly. "The very scars that had killed him. It was in here that Gozaburo sealed Seto's fate. Seto retaliated by killing our stepfather. True, he had pushed the bastard out the window, but he had taken that life with his own hands just the same. Do not cry, Serenity. This was the fate Seto wanted. Though I, too, shed tears for him, I do so while knowing that unlike our stepfather, Seto is in a better world now. You had given him a second chance of redemption, and now he is finally at peace." _

_At peace._

She continued to stare at his face. Yes, he seemed the happiest that he had ever been in. He was now in a world without pain, without hate, without regret. Somewhere in some divine realm where the souls of the dead go, he was with his mother, his father, Noa...and it is there he was waiting for her.

She took a bracelet off her wrist, one she had received from Joey and cherished deeply, and slipped it around his wrist, so that even in death, she and Seto were together.

* * *

_Six years later..._

* * *

"DADDY!!!!!!!!!"

24-year-old Mokuba shot up in his bed when he heard the terrified scream that ripped through the dark mansion. Rebecca blinked and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Another one?" she whispered, fear etched in her voice.

"Afraid so," Mokuba confirmed with a nod. He jumped up and ran down the hall, Rebecca at his heels.

As they passed a few bedrooms, the agonizing screams of a petrified child echoed. "MOMMY! DADDY!!" Followed by frightened sobbing.

Mokuba was in the room first, flicking on the light and sat down on his son's bed. Rebecca pulled the four-year-old into her arms. "Shh, quiet my love, quiet," she whispered as she stroked his hair. "It's okay. Mommy and Daddy are here now."

Mokuba placed his hand on the child's back as he continued to cry softly, the terror slowly fading away. "What is it, son?" he asked. "What did you dream?"

The child sniffled. "There was this man," he whimpered as he looked at his father. "He had long silver hair and one golden eye. He told me that he was going to take my soul away forever. Then there was this light and I ripped from my body. It hurt." He buried his face in Rebecca's shoulder. "I wanna sleep with you tonight, Mommy."

As the couple carried the child back to their room, he whispered quietly, "That man was really mean. He stole my dragon."

* * *

**To be continued...**


End file.
